Water Index: Design Strategies for Drought, Flooding and Contamination

Water Index: Design Strategies for Drought, Flooding and Contamination

In the wake of an escalating global crisis with water, ‘Water Index: Design Strategies for Drought, Flooding and Contamination’ (2017) is a critical inventory and analysis of innovative architecture, landscape architecture and design solutions to address the rising, disappearing, and contamination of water. The book works to create an enduring manual and manifesto for water development and design in the twenty-first century and to acknowledge crisis-initiated design as an important trajectory for architectural discourse. The chapter ‘Catastrophe’ is taken from my book ‘Sweet&Salt: Water and the Dutch’. Read it here: 

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Tackle floods? Singapore update on water

Tackle floods? Singapore update on water

The Straits Times of Singapore wrote an article about my lecture with the title ‘Tackle floods? Create more space for water’. I gave this lecture, called ‘Water – Holland’s ‘Frenemy’, on February 18th, 2016 for the Centre for Liveable Cities in Singapore. 

The Netherlands is known for its control over water. But now that the climate is changing, the Dutch are also changing their approach towards water management. In cities more space is being created for water, the landscape is being redesigned to let water in and sometimes the dikes are even being lowered. Water is becoming a friend instead of an enemy – or better said, frenemy.
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Essay ‘Wonderland Water’ for Age of Wonderland

Essay ‘Wonderland Water’ for Age of Wonderland

Age of Wonderland ‘Balancing Green and Fair Food´ discusses the complex issues that takes place in our globalized food system through inviting six creatives from around the world to exchange knowledge during the Dutch Design Week that took place from 17 to 25 October 2015. For the publication associated with this event, I wrote the essay “Wonderland Water” about the growing awareness of the Dutch and their relationship with the water.

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Longreads avant la lettre voor ‘Het beste van Atlas’

Longreads avant la lettre voor ‘Het beste van Atlas’

In de ruime bloemlezing ‘Het beste van Atlas’, samengesteld door Emile Brugman en uitgegeven door Atlas Contact, zijn mijn stukken ‘De woestijn’ en ‘Dear Daddy,’ verschenen. Het literaire tijdschrift Atlas werd in 1991 opgericht om onderdak te bieden voor longreads ‘avant la lettre’ – te lang voor de krant, te kort voor een boek – waarmee in Nederland de basis werd gelegd voor de literaire non-fictie. In ‘Het beste van Atlas’ staat o.a. ook stukken van Ian Buruma, Jan Brokken, Boudewijn Büch  en Geert Mak. Lees hier mijn twee verhalen.

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Designed for the Future: Het Schieblock

Designed for the Future: Het Schieblock

In Designed for the Future, Jared Green asked eighty global leaders who shape our built and natural environments the same question: what gives you hope that a sustainable future is possible? I contributed a short essay about ZUS Architects and its transformation of Het Schieblock, an abandoned office building from the sixties, into the center of the revitalized neighborhood. Read my piece  below.

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