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Water Paradoxes

Headshots of 15 people who are speakers at the Water Paradoxes Symposium on April 11, 2026.

"Water Paradoxes: The Atacama Desert as an Extreme Laboratory for Climate, Extraction, and Design"

Saturday, April 11, 2026

9:30am-3:40pm CT

Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment

Richardson Memorial Hall, Thomson Hall (Room 202)

New Orleans, LA 70118

Open to all students, faculty, staff, and the public.

In the face of accelerating global warming and advancing desertification, the symposium “Water Paradoxes: The Atacama Desert as an Extreme Laboratory for Climate, Extraction, and Design” will bring together leading experts in arid zones, water management, critical minerals, renewable energy, cultural heritage, and urban and architectural design. The symposium, held April 11 on Tulane University's Uptown Campus in New Orleans, will examine how climate change and extractive economies are transforming the world’s oldest and driest desert—and how the Chilean Atacama’s extreme water conditions offer vital insights for other regions confronting similar pressures.

Through provocative discussions and cross-disciplinary exchange, the symposium seeks to rethink how we understand and respond to the intertwined challenges of global warming, water scarcity, and desertification. Its debates and outcomes aim to inform the strategies, governance frameworks, and design approaches needed to navigate these transformations in the decades ahead.

Sympoisum Co-Chairs: Cristóbal Molina Baeza, Visiting Professor, and Rubén García Rubio, Associate Professor of Architecture & Urbanism, at Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment

Symposium Sponsors: Center on Climate Change and Urbanism and the Saul A. Mintz Global Research Studios at Tulane 

REGISTER HERE

SPEAKERS AND MODERATORS

Guest speakers and moderators include local and international experts (as pictured above): Adam Marcus, Carlos Foxley, Carolina Tohá, Cecilia Puga, Cristóbal Molina Baeza (Symposium Co-Chair), Eduardo Silva, Iñaki Alday, John L. Sabo, Ludovico Feoli, Margarita Jover, Mariana Concha, Maritza Jadrijevic, Orlando Hernández Ying, Pedro Alonso, Pilar Alliende, Rubén García Rubio (Symposium Co-Chair), and Tony Pereira. Bios will be available on the symposium website. 

SCHEDULE

An overview schedule is below. The detailed schedule will be available soon at the symposium website: www.atacamadesertproject.com/symposium

• 9:30 am–10:20 am – Registration, Welcome Remarks, Introduction
• 10:20 am–11:05 am – Panel 1: Water Heritages
• 11:15 am–12:00 pm – Panel 2: Water Technologies
• 12:10 pm–12:55 pm – Panel 3: Water Disputes
• 1:00 pm–2:00 pm – Lunch (Meal Provided)
• 2:15 pm–3:00 pm – Panel 4: Water Climates
• 3:10 pm–3:40 pm – Epilogue, Closing Remarks

Questions? Contact the Symposium Co-Chairs Rubén García Rubio, rgrubio@tulane.edu, and Cristóbal Molina Baeza, cmolinabaeza@tulane.edu.

Tulane University is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact the event organizer listed above for accessibility accommodations. Please note that advance notice is necessary to arrange some accessibility needs.

Tulane is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Legally protected demographic classifications such as race, national origin, sex, age, disability, veteran status, etc. are not relied upon as an eligibility or participation criteria for employment or educational programs or activities.