Capturing Water, Culture and Heritage through Icons

Abstract

Humans have engaged with water in multiple ways, creating physical structures – such as buildings, cities, infrastructures and landscapes–and socio-cultural manifestations – for example, institutions, laws, artistic practices and rituals. They have transformed natural settings in keeping with climate and energy conditions. To understand the diverse conditions of water spaces and heritage, we have created a set of icons to categorize tangible and intangible objects and practices related to water. The icons help us identify different scales, functions and forms of both water management- related heritage objects, as well as generic water-related structures. The categories identified are suggestions and not conclusive or mutually exclusive.