Water Works: Eco-Social Design

Water is a central concern in the ecological and social issues that we are faced with, and technical solutions do not suffice. We need a radically diverse approach that stages and cultivates relations. Without promising grandiose schemes to save the environment, ecosocial design fosters curiosity about the ways in which people draw on their experience and shared commitment to landscapes and ecologies. Through a collection of essays and case studies, Water Works shows over sixty careful responses to flooding, drought, pollution, extraction and other issues around freshwater. Divided into seven themes: Purity, Wild, Scale, Representation, Violence, Infrastructure and Commerce, Water Works allows us to learn from places and makers that build on the intricate relationships between people and other life forms, materials and (infra)structures. Critically blending knowledge derived from craft, art, science and ecology, these works ask: what are sensible ways to embrace and connect with water? Through wading, floating, testing and tasting, how can we generate more desirable ecosocial relations? In facing large-scale engineering, climate change, privatization and other forms of water violence, these works are an invitation to design together with water as a site and medium for ecosocial renewal. Water Works demonstrates that art, culture and the incorporation of existing structures and collaborations play crucial roles as inspiration and as launching pads for changing our way of addressing climate change. Contributors: Mari Bastashevski, Janna Bystrykh, Carolina Dominguez-Guzmán, Clemens Driessen, Shahnoor Hasan, Clara Helbo, Ils Huygens, Francesca Masoero, Coltrane McDowell, mirko nikolic, Joana Pestana, Benedetta Pompili, Moreno Schweikle, Esha Shah, Mihnea Tananescu, Serina Tarkhanian, John Thackara, and Henriëtte Waal. Includes interviews with Jon Ardern (Superflux), Atelier LUMA, John van Boxel, Natsai Audrey Chieza (Faber Futures), Ahmed Salem Dabah, Julien Fargetton, Sylvain Hartenberg (OOZE Architects), Anab Jain (Superflux), Zairah Khan, Rebecca Lave, Mary Maggic, Kent O. Miller, Mirko Nikolić, Roric Paulman, Eva Pfannes (OOZE Architects), Qanat Collective, Marjetica Potrč, Rimini Protokoll, Fernando Felipe Pérez Riojas, Sandrine Rozier, Rutger Schrijer, Susan Schuppli, Moreno Schweikle, Veronika Sedlmair, Islam Shabana, Brynjar Sigurðarson, Billy Tiller, Heidi Vogels, Daniel Wetzel (Rimini Protokoll), and Thijs de Zeeuw. Edited by Henriëtte Waal and Clemens Driessen Designed by Bart de Baets Published by Valiz, 2026 Softcover, 400 pages full color offset, 9.45 × 6.7 inches ISBN: 978-9-49-324645-4