Water Works: Ecosocial Design

A reader on water and design, edited by Henriëtte Waal and Clemens Driessen, that argues for approaches built on relationships rather than purely technical fixes.

The editors start from the view that water lies at the heart of today's ecological and social problems and that engineering on its own cannot answer them. Ecosocial design, as they describe it, makes no promise to rescue the environment through grand schemes; instead it looks with curiosity at how people draw on lived experience and a shared commitment to the landscapes and ecosystems around them. Through essays and case studies the book gathers more than sixty responses to drought, flooding, extraction, pollution and other freshwater problems, drawing on craft, art, science and ecology.

The material is organised in seven themed sections, moving from purity and the wild through scale and representation to violence, infrastructure and commerce. Contributors include John Thackara, Mari Bastashevski, Esha Shah and the Center for Genomic Gastronomy, with interviews with Superflux, Atelier LUMA, OOZE Architects, Rimini Protokoll and Marjetica Potrč, among others. Design by Bart de Baets.

Valiz, 2025. 400 pages, paperback, 17 x 24 cm. In English.