Inthewakeofanescalatingglobalcrisiswithwater,WaterIndexisthefirstcriticalinventoryandanalysisofinnovativearchitecture,landscapearchitectureanddesignsolutionstoaddresstherising,disappearing,andcontaminationofwater.Asanecologicaldisastercomplexfermentsincontemporaryarchitecturaldiscourse,designcompetitionbriefs,conferencetopicsandjournalthemesoptimisticallycallfordesignerstoreconcileorreimaginetherelationshipbetweenwater,architectureandcity.Anxietyiselevatedbytheonslaughtofextremeweatherintheformofsuper-storms,hurricanes,tsunamis,landslides,floods,anddroughtswhosefrequenciesandintensitiescontinuetoincrease.Coupletheever-presentexposuretodisasterwithscientificdatathatsuggestsafuturecharacterizedbyclimatechangeandpopulationgrowth,andthenwehavetheingredientsforafull-fledgedparanoia:theperfectmotivationforabsurd,expansiveandradicalbuildingprojects.WaterIndex,examinesthreehydrologicaltragedies(flood,contamination,anddrought)throughstrategiesthatoffermethodsforcontrolling,escaping,oradaptingtothevitalnaturalresource.WaterIndexisacollectivevisionofthefuturethatprovidessolutionsforeverycontinentandspansthedisciplinesofurbandesign,landscapearchitectureandarchitecture.Thebookworkstocreateanenduringmanualandmanifestoforwaterdevelopmentanddesigninthetwenty-firstcenturyandtoacknowledgecrisis-initiateddesignasanimportanttrajectoryforarchitecturaldiscourse.WaterIndexhighlightsamomentwhendesignershavelinkedformalconcernswithsocial,ecologicalandpoliticalagendasofferingsolutionsforexpandingglobalproblems.
