Dutch Waterworks Worldwide maps the global reach of Dutch hydraulic engineering through Luuk Kramer's photographs, tracing centuries of water management — from Polish polders and Japanese dikes to Brazilian canals and a lock in Suriname.
About This Book
The Dutch relationship with water is not merely national mythology — it is an exported technology that reshaped coastlines, agriculture, and cities across the globe. This book follows photographer Luuk Kramer on a worldwide journey to document waterworks built by Dutch engineers from the 16th century to the present. What emerges is a complex picture of shared water heritage: knowledge carried by colonising forces and invited specialists alike, leaving legacies that local communities read in varied and sometimes contested ways. Essays and interviews by local experts ensure the perspectives are not solely Dutch, grounding this work of landscape and architectural photography in honest historical reckoning.
Key Features
- 256 pages of large-format landscape and architectural photography documenting Dutch-engineered waterworks across multiple continents
- Edited by Eric Ash, Amy Chester, and Maurits Ertsen, with contributions from local experts via interviews and essays
- Case studies spanning Polish polders, Japanese dikes and dams, Brazilian canals, and a historic lock in Suriname
- Published by Nai010 Publishers
What You'll Discover
- How Dutch expertise in delta management, land reclamation, and flood control was transferred — and transformed — across vastly different geographies and climates
- The colonial entanglements embedded in hydraulic infrastructure, and how host communities interpret those legacies today
- The visual language of water engineering at monumental scale, captured through Luuk Kramer's documentary photography across continents
- A model for thinking about global water heritage as something collectively owned, contested, and ongoing rather than a purely technical achievement
About the Author
Luuk Kramer is an architecture and landscape photographer whose work for this volume took him across multiple continents to document Dutch-engineered waterworks. The book is edited by Eric Ash, Amy Chester, and Maurits Ertsen, among others, and draws on a wide network of local scholars and practitioners for its essays and interviews.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 256
- Dimensions: 28 x 31 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9789462088467
- Publisher: Nai010 Publishers
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Landscape architects, hydraulic engineers, historians of infrastructure and colonialism, architectural photographers, and anyone engaged with the politics and practice of water management at a global scale.