Cristian Olmos Herrera

Visual Researcher

About

Hi there, I'm Cristian Olmos Herrera, an architect and urban designer from Chile. I’m living and working in the city of Vienna, doing illustrations, photography and research.I hold a PhD in Development Planning and an MSc in Building & Urban Design in Development from the Bartlett Development Planning Unit at University College London, where I investigated the fragmentation of the hydrosocial territory in the Atacama Desert.During my post-doctoral research at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Amsterdam, I utilised visual methods to analyse everyday water practices. My research has uncovered spatial networks of people, institutions, and technology, shedding light on the political economy of water with a focus on issues related to unequal access. As part of the interdisciplinary project Transformations to Groundwater Sustainability (T2GS), I compared grassroots groundwater management initiatives across various case studies through drawings (India, Algeria, Morocco, USA, Chile, Peru, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania).I'm passionate about making academic work more accessible and relatable to a diverse range of people, whether at community gatherings, in educational institutions, cultural events, or informal conversations. I love telling stories through my drawings, aiming to convey ideas in a way that is easy for everyone to comprehend, connect with, engage with, and respond to.

Drawings

Urban sketches

Harringey, London, UK
Hernals, Vienna, Austria
Regent's Canal, London, UK
Kings Cross, London, UK
Valparaiso, Chile
Wilhelminenberg, Vienna, Austria
Vaitiquina, Toconao, Chile
Kimal, Toconao, Chile
Jere, Toconao, Chile
Epping Forest, London, UK
Sea Palling, Norfolk, UK
Donaukanal, Vienna, Austria

Drawing research: Transformations to Groundwater Sustainability Project (T2GS)

Syrian Golan Heights
Randullabad, India
Draa Valley, Morocco
M’Zab valley, Algeria
Ica Valley, Peru
Rawangaon, India

Drawing research: Using artistic drawings as a tool for interdisciplinary exchange,
team-building and transdisciplinary research

Conservation and Biodiversity
Food & Land-based livelihood
Landscape transformation
Water security

Drawing research: Thinking (and) planning with Hannah Arendt

Thinking (and) planning with Hannah Arendt
Vita Activa
Planning is political
Participation
Collaboration
Inclusion

Drawing research: Transformative water pact

Water is an essential element for sustaining all life on earth
Water has diverse cultural, indigenous, social, spiritual and natural values
Water and water bodies as commons
Protects and enforces human rights
Water quality, safety, access and distribution
Water and unequal power relations and injustices
Inequities in water governance
Responsibilities associated with contemporary water and climate crises
Responsive public institutions
Safe civic space

Interviews through drawings: Hydrosocial territories in the Atacama Desert: An ethnographic analysis of changing water practices in Toconao, Chile

Juana Josefa's story
Aurelia's story

PHOTOGRAPHY

Steams of Belonging on Thaliastraße

A year ago, I participated in a tour as part of Gemma Zukunft called "STEP 2035: Thaliastraße – Green and Cool in the Heart of Ottakring." This tour was organised by architecture journalist Franziska Leeb and the city of Vienna. The walk inspired me to reflect on the stories that make Thaliastraße one of Vienna's most popular streets.This analogue photography series emphasises the spaces created by the spray mist showers on Thaliastraße, where locals and outsiders blend into the vibrant mix of life. Here, immigrants, traders, artists, and the unnoticed weave through the fabric of local shops, traditional cafes, kebab stands, and vintage boutiques. These misty spaces bring together diverse languages, customs, and faces in this multicultural district, each carrying stories of distance and belonging, shaping the street’s eclectic spirit.

Haze of wires and shadows
Emerging from the mist
Hidden in plain sight
Wandering shadow
Invisible boundaries
Urban silhouettes

Writing

(2021) Transformations to groundwater sustainability: from individuals and pumps to communities and aquifers

(2020) Autonomy in Times of Economic Complicity: Mining Expansion and Water Practices in Northern Chile

(2019) Hydrosocial territories in the Atacama Desert: An ethnographic analysis of changing water practices in Toconao, Chile

(2019) Autonomía en tiempos de complicidad económica: Expansión minera y prácticas del agua en el norte de Chile

(2014) TERRITORY’S FRAGMENTATION: The territory of aboriginal communities in the process of mining expansion: The case of the Atacama Desert, Chile