News

Spanning four days from July 11th to the 14th of July 2023, and involving 36 design students from 8 universities, this workshop was designed to foster an understanding of water to be liked and wished to be taken care of. read more

June 10th 2023: GLASS-works Matter in a one day group show read more

WaterSchool & Studio Makkink & Bey featuring work on the occasion of Water Cities Rotterdam / Liquid City read more

Link to the video on Instagram via read more

WaterSchool Cabinet of Curiosities functions as the setting for a series of roundtable discussions with artists, scientists and designers between December 2022 and July 2023. read more

Last december we celebrated the Dutch Design Award category Design research for WaterSchool and Studio Makkink & Bey’s 20th anniversary. We invited Suzanne Bernhardt and Philipp Kolmann to share their project ‘Ears of Earth’ with us. read more

The KNAW, the Akademie van Kunsten in cooperation with Studio Makkink & Bey opened an exhibition dedicated to water in all its facets. Until July 2023 this exhibition will function as the setting for a series of roundtable discussions with artists, scientists and designers. On selected days the exhibition will be open for guided visits. read more

What Design Can Do joined COP27 with a group of 18 creative changemakers from the Netherlands, Egypt, Mali, Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, and Ghana, WaterSchool being one of them. read more

Last december we celebrated the Dutch Design Award category Design research for WaterSchool and Studio Makkink & Bey’s 20th anniversary. We invited Suzanne Bernhardt and Philipp Kolmann to share their project ‘Ears of Earth’ with us. read more

WaterSchool has won the Dutch Design Award 2022 in the category Design Research. Thank you to all designers, architects and artists who collaborated with us! read more

All DDA nominees exhibit during Dutch Design Week from 22-30 October 2022. read more

“Studio Makkink & Bey takes on a whole range of roles and in WaterSchool M4H+ has a convincing project that hits home on all levels.” read more

We are delighted to invite you to the upcoming WATERSCHOOL during the Milan Design Week and Fuorisalone. You can find us in fabulous Alcova. It is here that we present WATERSCHOOL’s Garden of Delight, WATERSCHOOL’s site-based research and the ‘learning by doing’ approach focusing on Rotterdam’s Merwe-Vierhavens (M4H) harbour district, in which the city plans to build some 3,000 (live-work) dwellings for approximately 6,300 people in the near future. read more

We are happy to invite you to the first of our Waterkeeper expeditions on Friday 13th of May: (Of) Who(m) is water? This first expedtion is lead by Li An Poa, known from her work Drinkable Rivers. Together we wil explore the open water around Metaalkathedraal Utrecht and Rijnvliet. read more

WATERSCHOOL, design researcher Moniek Driesse and sensory artist and spatial designer Maidie van den Bos enable a series of 3 performative lectures ‘Imagining the in-between of land and water’ on Thursday 12th of May. There are only limited seats available so make sure to make your reservations as quickly as you can. read more

WATERSCHOOL is part of Design Fest Ghent from 22nd of April untill 1st of May. Design Fest Ghent is a new biennial 10 day festival that offers space to designers to present their ideas. WaterSchool is located in the Design Museum Ghent. read more

The Dutch Pavilion at the World Expo Dubai will present an installation of WaterSchool from 5th to 19th of March 2022. read more

WaterSchool will be part of Design Fest Ghent from 22nd of April untill 1st of May, location Design Museum Ghent. Design Fest Gent is a new biennial 10 day festival that offers designers space to present their ideas. read more

During Dutch Design Week, on Wednesday October 20, the new general and artistic director of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam IABR, Saskia van Stein, moderated a Watertalk in the IABR-DOWN TO EARTH: WATERSCHOOL M4H+ exhibition. read more

For our exhibition at Dutch Design Week we have invited a few of them to give a presentation about their work at Thursday, October 21, 16.00 – 17.30h read more

WaterSchool is moving forward: the exhibition IABR—DOWN TO EARTH: M4H+ travelled to the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, October 16 – 24. read more

We are delighted that the kite installation of MKGK, ‘Silent Messengers’, will premiere flying in Rotterdam on Friday July 30 as part of the IABR—DOWN TO EARTH: WATERSCHOOL M4H+ program. With the kite installation Maarten Kolk and Guus Kusters show the silent decline of a magical phenomenon: the goose migration. As Covid-19 did not give us the opportunity to invite you all for an opening of this exhibition, we will throw a celebration party on Sunday July 25 as well. read more

“Making waves” is a radio show by Studio Makkink & Bey and Good Times Bad Times for WaterSchool, occupied the sonic spectrum for 3 consecutive days, broadcasting from the WATERSCHOOL M4H+ exhibition site, in the warehouse of Studio Makkink & Bey in Merwe-Vierhavens, Rotterdam. read more

For their final thesis, 18 architecture students from TU Delft researched the history of water use in schools. A selection of these theses will be presented on Friday July 9 in the IABR—DOWN TO EARTH: WATERSCHOOL M4H+ exhibition. read more

The installation INdirect INvisible water, which can be seen in the WATERSCHOOL M4H+ exhibition, wants to increase the awareness of water, especially when it comes to our indirect use of it. The makers of the installation, Studio Makkink & Bey, Studio Corvers and Carla Herrewijnen, will present a workshop in which participants can measure their personal water footprint, analyze which ‘type’ of water that footprint is made up of, and discuss the various courses of action with the makers. Spots are limited, so you might want to check in early. read more

Co-curators of WATERSCHOOL M4H+, Rianne Makkink and Jurgen Bey, walks you through the exhibition in the workspace of Studio Makkink & Bey. read more

During the WATERSCHOOL M4H+ exhibition we organize a series of 3 talkshows, guided tours through the exhibitions, a radioshow, presentations and workshops every Friday. Check out the program and make sure you follow us on Instagram for more announcements! read more

We are happy to invite you for the WATERSCHOOL M4H+ exhibition. This exhibition takes place in our warehouse and on 5 outside plots in the M4H area and is commissioned by the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam, IABR, for its 9th edition DOWN TO EARTH. The exhibition is conceived, curated and produced by Studio Makkink & Bey. read more

We are happy to announce that WaterSchool will be part of the Dutch pavilion at the World Expo in Dubai. read more

From 12th of December 2020 until 12th of March 2021 WaterSchool exhibits in Xiongan, China. Built on the themes Clean, Grow, Harvest, Make, Build and Document, the exhibition shows various imaginable production landscapes around the WaterSchool. read more

Saturday 4th of July Rianne Makkink introduces a duet presentation by Robbert van der Horst and Noortje Sanders, the 2nd and 1st artist in residence at WaterSchool Utrecht in cooperation with Metaalkathedraal Utrecht. read more

Due to corona this years edition of Oerol Festival on Terschelling Island in the Netherlands is rescheduled into an imaginairy island festival. Studio Makkink & Bey and Studio Corvers will stay on Terschelling for 5 days and present Radio Watertoren (water tower), a podcast about water on Terschelling.

This spring WaterSchool resides in Metaal Kathedraal (metal cathedral) in Utrecht to further develop the curriculum of the WaterSchool. Artist in residence Noortje Sanders kicked off and launched her podcast series on the sound of water: Radio WaterRuis (Radio WaterMurmur), a 4 episode podcast for the whole family.

Listen to the first episode ‘Onder water is alles anders’ (Everything is different under water):

Listen to the second episode ‘Lawaai en stilte’ (Noise and silence):

read more

This spring WaterSchool resides in Metaal Kathedraal (metal cathedral) Utrecht to further develop the curriculum of the WaterSchool. Rianne Makkink will also curate 4 Sunday afternoon sessions. The first session of the dialogue table ‘MISsie’ will take place Sunday 5th of April 09.30 h. Due to corona you can not attend to the session in the cathedral; we will come to your living room instead. read more

Rianne Makkink and Jurgen Bey have been appointed curators Water as Leverage for the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR). Studio Makkink & Bey already participated in IABR – 2018 with their WaterSchool. WaterSchool 2.0 will open during IABR-2020. read more

Last summer WaterSchool, Studio Makkink & Bey and Atelier NL organised a SummerSchool for students. 17 students went out in the polder, gathering clay. They made an oven by hand and with materials available.

The adventure was filmed. read more

On Thursday, 5th of September 2019 Rianne Makkink explored the properties and agency of water, together with physician and researcher Yuka Mizusawa (the message of water) and artist and designer Aliki van der Kruijs (water as design element). The lectures were followed by a vital water ‘tupperware party’ organised by Aqua Aurora. read more

Studio Makkink & Bey is organising a Summer-WaterSchool on their farm in the Noordoostpolder in August. We are happy to invite students, designers and young professionals to attend to one of the two weeklong workshops (Monday until Friday): one starts the 12th of August and the other one starts the 19th of August 2019. read more

WaterSchool present in A School of Schools exhibition from 28 of June until 29 of September 2019 in C-Mine, Genk (B) read more

Design journalist Jeroen Junte presented the highs and lows of Milan Design Week. WaterSchool is one of the selected projects . Watch Rianne Makkink’s presentation here (introduction by Jeroen Junte starts at 12:30; Rianne starts at 13:50). read more

The WaterSchool installation showed how an open environment can actually work in practice. read more

Woven table cloth shows vision on co-operation between different crafts. read more

Check out our press release and download link for images and illustrations. read more

Want to stay updated? All you have to do is check our feed once every while. read more

WaterSchool is happy to invite all press to the press preview. read more

We are happy to announce that WaterSchool by Studio Makkink & Bey will be present in Alcova from the 9th to 14th of April. Come join us between 11 am and 7 pm. read more

The WaterSchool was invited to be present at the 4th Design Biennial in Istanbul from 22nd of September to 4th of November 2018. read more