Following the Watershed Atelier in Paris, France (2011), the Watershed Workshop in Los Angeles, California cuts a cross section of the earth in relationship to water extraction and harvesting. The workshop is subdivided into three sections: Air to Surface, Surface to Surface, and Subsurface to Surface. Each section engages the gravity and cycles of water through a particular lens and its multiscalar relationship to cities. Rather than create a standardized nomenclature based on scale or theme, the three panels address the processes shaping watersheds in terms of water migration, extraction, and harvesting. In this way, we can better imagine the gravity and cycles of water in relationship to mobility, energy, infrastructure, agriculture—all decisive elements in unleashing the latent opportunities of watersheds.

Participants:

Hitoshi Abe, University of California Los Angeles
Anthony Acciavatti, Princeton University
Diana Agrest, Cooper Union
Hadley and Peter Arnold, co-directors, Arid Lands Institute
Ila Berman, California College of the Arts
Armando Carbonell, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Felipe Correa, Harvard University
Byron Kuth and Elizabeth Ranieri, Kuth / Ranieri Architects
Rob Pirani, Regional Plan Association
Jenny Price, Los Angeles Urban Ranger
Margie Ruddick, Margie Ruddick Landscape
Graciela Silvestri, La Plata University
David Turnbull and Jane Harrison, Atopia Research
Nicholas You, The Citistates Group