Embassy of Water at DDW24
Creative lead Anouk van der Poll on how a new design language fosters a respectful relationship with water.
A new design language can help break down the compartmentalised thinking around water, believes Anouk van der Poll, creative lead of the Embassy of Water. In the lead-up to Dutch Design Week 2024 (DDW24), Lydia Fraaije, as the new Voice of Water, is developing such a language, with nature as her inspiration. “Water has so many beautiful qualities. Just look at how a droplet falls. We can learn so much from that.”
When Anouk van der Poll began as creative lead of the Embassy of Water in 2018, water-related challenges were not yet as prominent, she explains. “Fortunately, people now understand just how important and urgent it is to look at water differently and treat it differently.” In the lead-up to DDW24, biomimicry and biophilic architect Lydia Fraaije is developing a new design language that will capture and convey the story of water in an even more comprehensive way. Fraaije uses nature as her source of inspiration in her designs.
Momentum
Despite the growing momentum, Anouk believes it’s still crucial to continue telling water’s story. “In recent years, we’ve witnessed both droughts and extremely wet periods and their consequences. People are talking about it. The fact that access to clean drinking water is at risk has frequently been in the news. Yet the broader picture of water extends far beyond what we directly see—whether it’s drought or too much water. We still have work to do. In short, this is how we currently approach water: we take it, use it, pollute it, and then discharge it. We want to reverse that thinking. We’re borrowing water from a cycle. And when you borrow something, you should handle it with care because you want to give it back. This follows a more indigenous perspective, where water is spoken of with respect and gratitude.”
Breaking out of compartments
To see and approach water in this way, it’s important to break water free from all the compartments we’ve placed it in, says Anouk. Li An Phoa, last year’s Voice of Water from the Embassy of Water, has been working diligently on this. “Li An, for instance, connected all the mayors of towns and cities along the Maas. Water, of course, doesn’t stop at national borders; it flows right through them. Yet governance structures do stop at borders. We’ve placed water into all sorts of compartments, but that’s not the reality of nature. We’re so stuck in those ways of thinking. We have this idea that we’re somehow above it—we humans control water and decide how it should flow. Slowly but surely, we’re realising that this isn’t a very practical way of thinking.”
Take the number of types of water we’ve named, says Anouk. “You have rainwater, seawater, river water, wastewater, drinking water, groundwater, surface water, and so on. Responsibilities are also divided: one person is responsible for wastewater, and someone else ensures the quality of drinking water. Due to all these compartments, people often work with blinkers on.” To break this compartmentalised thinking, we need a more unified narrative, according to Anouk.
Lydia Fraaije: new design language
Such a unified narrative is taking shape in a new design language being developed by Lydia Fraaije. As a biomimicry and biophilic architect, she draws inspiration from nature in her designs. Anouk: “Many qualities of water can be copied and used in design. Take, for example, water in a forest. It moves through a beautiful process: it drips down from the highest leaves of a tree, slowly trickling down until it reaches a bed of moss before finally being absorbed into the soil. It’s an almost loving way of capturing water. Compare that to how it works in the city: there, it falls hard onto hot stones and evaporates before it even touches the ground. You can use the forest’s slow process to develop a design language.” The design language that Lydia Fraaije is developing will be presented at DDW24. “When you observe in this way, with real attention, and genuinely want to understand what happens in a water system, it changes your relationship with water. You can start to express that relationship within a building as well.”
Technical exploration
This perspective is also being practically explored this year in a technical study for a circular water system. “A new building project called Moleneind will be constructed in the centre of Eindhoven, with approximately 150 homes,” explains Anouk. “Together with the developer, we’re exploring what it takes to create a fully circular system. In this study, we’re looking as broadly as possible. How can we best purify the water we use, for example? What are the costs? But also: what impact does water have on your health within a building? Heat stress is a real problem, but the damage is rarely fully accounted for in building designs. What would it yield if we could provide cooling through a smart way of managing water? With these questions in mind, perhaps a health insurer or other experts could join the development of such a project. If we can look more broadly, connect stakeholders, and get them to think beyond boundaries and compartments, we can link their values to water. We can then incorporate all of this into a business case.”
“Indigenous cultures also view water as a living being, like a family member you care for. I find that beautiful and at the same time intriguing.”— Anouk van der Poll
Water as a person
When you speak with the creative lead of the Embassy of Water, you notice that she talks about water as if it’s a person. “I see water as something that’s alive,” she says. “Indigenous cultures also view water as a living being, like a family member you care for. I find that beautiful and also intriguing.”
In many Western cultures, this view often contrasts sharply, Anouk observes. “Here, we almost flatten it: water is H2O, and that’s about it. As far as I’m concerned, we could do with getting to know and understand water a bit better. To do that, we need to prioritise water more often. And when developing a new design language, it’s important not to point fingers, because that tends to alienate people.”
The power of water
Rather than pointing fingers, Anouk prefers to create space for a connection between people and water. “Water has remarkable qualities in terms of connection. It not only connects places but also fosters introspection and a connection with yourself. When you literally pause by water, answers and insights often come that can help you. You can translate that into design too. I find that I always learn a lot about myself, for instance, when I take a moment to look at the Dommel. That’s another great power of water. When you stop by water—whether it’s a river or the sea—and listen to it, in a way, you’re listening to yourself.”