Title: Tracing Fluid Histories: Reimagining Water's Relational Ontology through the Lens of Amsterdam's Public Bath Houses

This research presentation delves into the rich history of public bath houses in Amsterdam, unraveling their significance as sites of more-than-human relationality. Drawing on archival records, architectural analyses, and socio-cultural studies, this investigation examines how the bath houses' spatial and social dynamics provide a unique vantage point to reconsider the figurations of water and its relational ontology.

By exploring the shifting municipal policies, architectural designs of Amsterdam's bath houses and the rhetorics behind their development, the study foregrounds water as an element of social mediation and differentiation, entangled in a complex web of cultural practices, ecological, and material relationships. In doing so, the research decenters and repositions intrasocial relations within an augmented field of more-than-human relationality whithout loosing sight of their political dimension, unveiling the multifaceted ways in which water mediates human and non-human interactions, while shaping our understanding of urban and ecological systems.

This presentation ultimately seeks to contribute to a broader scholarly conversation on relational ontologies, fostering a deeper understanding of the intricate connections between humans, water, and the built environment in the context of pressing issues of Amsterdam's housing crisis.