After investigating water and the way it influences ecosystems and communities (find out more about Bodies of Water 2025↗), the 2026 edition of Bodies of Water focuses on aridity.

Working on the concept of the “aridity line”, understood as both a climatic and cultural threshold, the programme analysed how heat waves, seasonal droughts and processes of desertification are redefining Mediterranean territories and daily practices.
The activities were structured in a series of online lectures followed by an in-person workshop held in Catania from 13 to 17 April 2026.

Bodies of Water 2: Designing Across the Aridity Line is a Blended Intensive Program (BIP) curated by Giulia Colletti within the framework of the Erasmus Plus Programme, in partnership with SWPS – School of Form (Warsaw, Poland), ESAD Matosinhos (Portugal), ESADA Granada (Spain) and THWS Technische Hochschule Würzburg-Schweinfurt (Germany).

Starting from a series of site visits Led by agronomist Simona Battagliola and architect Alba Balmaseda, participants explored the Botanical Garden and the historic center of Catania, reinterpreting them through exposure to heat, soil permeability, the more or less visible presence of water, and microclimatic variations.

A multisensory analysis of the landscape, including direct observation, listening to ambient sounds, and touching surfaces, allowed us to map where water has remained or left traces, and how plants have adapted to the progressive drying of the soil.

The design phase focused on Piazza Scammacca, identified as the ideal site for the development of a series of prototypes to improve its climate and consequently its usability. Just steps from the Abadir DELIDA Library, the workshop venue, the square was recently redeveloped and returned to the city as an urban market. A highly frequented public space, it features an outdoor dining area exposed to direct heat, impervious surfaces, and almost no vegetation. 

Organized into five thematic groups, students translated the ecological strategies they had studied during the week into five scale models. Their work was presented in an open and collective session, aimed at the local community.

Bodies of Water is part of Waterschool South, Abadir’s educational programme inspired by the Waterschool founded in Rotterdam by Studio Makkink & Bey. Focused on the strategic importance of water as a finite resource, Waterschool South aims to activate processes that foster cultural, academic, and scientific advancement, contributing to improved quality of life across Southern Europe and the Mediterranean basin.