Inside Out

A simple origami explores 13 global cities in their relation with water. Toronto, Paris Tokyo, Perth, Male, Lanzhou, Tehran, Milton Keynes, Mexico City, New Orleans, Reykjavic, Lagos, Ahmedabad.  Each city is presented through four questions: What geography? What management? What issues and constraints? Which initiatives? The comparative study illustrates generic issues such as flooding, droughts, and pollution. It puts forward the importance of ancient infrastructures that reveal a historic entente between what’s urban and what’s nature. The case studies demonstrate the growing necessity to rethink cities according to their watersheds.

Inside Out was part of the HydroCity symposium directed by InfraNet Lab and the  Alphabet City Water Festival. An exhibition took place at the Toronto Free Gallery, 1220 Bloor st W from November 2009 to Jan 2010, showcasing projects, models and designs by 30 international architects and landscape architects addressing the opportunities and challenges of water in the city. The exhibition was curated by Anneke Abhelakh, Chris Hardwicke, Ghazal Jafari, Sara Kamalvand, John Knechtel, and Mason White as part of the Alphabet city Water Festival. The exhibition was made possible with the support of the RBC Blue Project and the Dutch consulate.