Big problems do not always need big machines. The Water Pyramid makes drinking water for a whole village. However, its tiny German cousin serves just one family: the Watercone. This small cone of clear plastic sits on a pan of salt or dirty water. Sunlight does the rest. One cone yields about 1 to 1.5 litres of drinking water per day. That is roughly six glasses — enough to keep a child alive.
How the Watercone works
The design could not be simpler. First, you fill the black pan with salt water or dirty water. Then you place the clear cone on top and leave it in the sun. The pan warms up, and the water evaporates. Next, the vapour condenses in fine drops on the cool inner wall. The drops slide down into a gutter that runs along the base of the cone. Finally, you unscrew the cap at the top, flip the cone over, and pour the clean water out. No filters, no pumps, no electricity. Just physics and sunshine — the same principle that drives the Water Pyramid, contour trenching‘s rain capture and other low-tech water solutions.
Design with a mission
The Watercone comes from Munich. Industrial designer Stephan Augustin, who works for BMW by day, designed it around 2001. The car maker even lent a hand: the cone was tested in BMW’s wind tunnel to prove it stays put in strong coastal winds. In 2003, Augustin received the international iF Design Award for the Watercone. More prizes followed, including recognition from the Industrial Designers Society of America. The design world loved it: one cheap, mobile, stackable object that turns seawater into baby-safe drinking water.
Smart details
A few details show how well the concept was thought through. The cone is made of UV-resistant polycarbonate, so daily use in fierce sun is no problem for years. The material is food-safe and fully recyclable. The black pan boosts the heat uptake. And the cones stack, so a truck can carry thousands. Salt stays behind in the pan as brine, which you simply rinse out.
Where the Watercone stands today
Here the story becomes instructive. In 2008, Augustin licensed production and worldwide distribution to the German firm MAGE Water Management. Small batches reached the market, at around $69 per cone. Yet the Watercone never made the leap to mass production. Its own website has since gone offline. The design still wins hearts in museums and blogs. Meanwhile, the water crisis it aimed to solve has only grown.
The lesson? Brilliant design alone does not solve a world problem. Distribution, funding and local ownership matter just as much. That is exactly where its Dutch cousins did better: the Water Pyramid grew through local watershops, and the Waterboxx spread through a foundation with a business model. It is a theme that returns in every holistic view on agriculture: technology only works when communities carry it.
Still, the idea is free for anyone to learn from. On a sunny beach, a cone of clear plastic can save a life. That remains a beautiful thought.
Watch the Watercone in action
From seawater to drinking water — short English promo showing the full cycle
Water Cone — the original demo animation — the classic 2006 promotional clip
Watercone hands-on test — a real-world build-up and yield test *(in German)
Related articles on this site
The Water Pyramid: Drinking Water from Sunlight – Then and Now
The Waterboxx: Growing Trees in the Desert with Dew and Rain
Contour Trenching: Just Dig, and the Desert Turns Green
Sources and further reading
Watercone — Appropedia, the sustainability wiki