Embassy of Water conference

Why is water-positive construction a necessity?

Many new homes are being built. If we do not change anything, all these homes will have toilets through which we flush drinking water, where pollutants go down the drain and where rainwater is invisibly drained into the sea through the sewer system. Our current way of handling water is having a devastating effect on the natural water ecosystem. We have reduced the water cycle to half a cycle; hardly any water goes into the ground. Long periods of drought and floods are a direct result.

Learn how to put water first

At the Embassy of Water, we strive to work with water. This requires a different mindset, in which we do not design in a people-oriented way, but in a water-oriented way. We want to put water first and bring it to the table as the most important stakeholder at the beginning of the construction process. If it is up to the Embassy of Water, cities and towns will contribute to the resilience and health of the entire water system. The city and its inhabitants work together with and for water. It is good that there are already new systems to retain water and recycle shower water, for instance. But we go a step further and try to put the importance of water first in the construction process. We are happy to take you through this new approach during the conference.

The speakers

We will open the conference with an introduction by curator and initiator of the Embassy of Water Anouk van der Poll. Also speaking will be Li An Phoa, the new Voice of Water at the Embassy of Water. She will represent water in talks on water-friendly housing construction with various partners from the water and construction industry. Li An Phoa is founder of Drinkable Rivers and is calling attention to a world with drinkable rivers through walks, education, her book and an NPO documentary. The third speaker at the conference is Peter Scheer, director of SEMiLLA Sanitation and a pioneer in sanitary wastewater reuse, nutrient recovery and creating a closed water cycle.

Designer Chiara Treglia, commissioned by the Embassy, is working on a design that will allow us to put the Voice of Water principle into a clearly applicable process to support property developers, housing cooperatives and contractors in the construction process with a water-centred approach. During this conference, we would like to take you through this process. Because the more projects we can start together, the faster we can balance the water system and give water the chance to become resilient and regenerative again.