POLLEN: Political Ecology Network

On July 3, the Enric Miralles Foundation and Newave, as part of the w a t e r s p a c e initiative and in collaboration with the POLLEN 2026 Conference, presented the dialogue “(Re)materializing the Political Ecology of Water” from the program “Architecture for Human, Urban, and Planetary Well-being,” a dialogue based on a fundamental premise: that water is not merely a natural resource, but a living substance whose materiality shapes the social, political, and ecological relationships that underpin our territories. The event took place within the framework of Barcelona World Capital of Architecture 2026.

In this regard, “(Re)materializing the Political Ecology of Water,” part of the “Architecture for Human, Urban, and Planetary Well-being” program, is a roundtable discussion that focuses on the materiality of water as a constitutive element of water policy, emphasizing its multiple and changing forms and its shared agency within socio-natural systems.

It focuses on mainstream perspectives to examine how water is understood and studied, incorporating various conceptual, methodological, and experiential approaches that allow its materiality to “speak.”

Through dialogue, research, and political ecology, this session explored how different conceptual, methodological, and experiential approaches—particularly from the perspectives of the Global South—enable us to broaden our understanding of water, recognizing its capacity to transform the ways in which we plan, inhabit, and govern territory.

The dialogue is part of the program “Architecture for Human, Urban, and Planetary Well-being,” promoted by the Enric Miralles Foundation. It is a platform for research and debate that explores the transformative role of architecture in addressing major contemporary challenges.

The dialogue is part of the program “Architecture for Human, Urban, and Planetary Well-being,” promoted by the Enric Miralles Foundation. It is a platform for research and debate that explores the transformative role of architecture in addressing major contemporary challenges.

Speakers:

– TANVI AGRAWAL
Wageningen University and Research, Ph.D. candidate researching groundwater resource policy in the Kaveri River basin

– AMITANGSHU ACHARYA
, Delft IHE Institute for Water Education, Full Professor and Coordinator of the Ph.D. Courses on the Decolonization of Science

– ZULEIKA BIBI SHEIK
University of Utrecht, Assistant Professor of Decolonial Approaches, Gender, and African American Studies

– RISK HAZEKAMP
AVANS University of Applied Sciences, Professional Doctorate in “Unlearning Photography: Listening to Cyanobacteria”

– MUNA DAJANI
Researcher in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science

– MICKEY BRIGHAM
North Carolina State University, Researcher in Political Ecology, Indigenous Studies, and the Rights of Nature

This event is part of the program for Barcelona 2026 World Capital of Architecture, a distinction awarded by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects (UIA) to the city hosting the UIA World Congress of Architects, and transforms it into a global forum for architecture, urban planning, and landscape architecture. From February 12 to December 13, a multidisciplinary program will be presented in collaboration with schools, universities, and professional and cultural organizations throughout Catalonia.

Barcelona 2026 World Capital of Architecture is supported by the Barcelona City Council, the Government of Catalonia, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.