In the wake of increasingly intense and unprecedented water-related phenomena, such as devastating floods and prolonged droughts, this one-hour online workshop invites participants to explore and reimagine water as an unpredictable and extreme living entity. By embracing the urgency of the current experience with extreme weathers and waters, this workshop seeks to find alternative narratives for humanity’s coexistence with this essential element and thus alter the way we imagine, design and shape our surroundings.

The design of the workshop is inspired by the facilitators’ backgrounds in Futures Literacy (time) and Architecture (space). Through collaborative exercises and play, attendees will embark on a journey of speculative design, pushing the boundaries of our understanding of water’s behavior. We will delve into the potential implications of water’s liveliness, harnessing collective ideation to redefine our relationship with this essential element. As an output, the workshop inspires the creation of futuristic artifacts that test alternative assumptions about our framing of water – that could be from architecturally adaptive structures to ingenious technologies that harness water’s vitality.

The workshop is embedded into and might inform a larger project titled Space&Time that merges artistry, science, (spatial) design and imagination to create spatial and sensorial experiences presenting an alternative scenery (future) of water. Overall, the project seeks ways to make sense of changing environments and aims to strengthen the visitors’ ability to appropriate new spaces and realities. Imagine: “How would a future look like where humanity thrives alongside this dynamic force of water in harmony, adaptability, and profound understanding?”