ROOM FOR THE RIVER

Nijmegen, Netherlands
H+N+S Landscape Architects

The people of the Netherlands have been manipulating the low-lying delta throughout the country for over a thousand years, reclaiming arable land from the sea through systems of dikes and canals, which they exported abroad through colonial and imperial claims across the globe. At home, the Dutch government introduced the Room for the River program, a design plan that addressed flood protection in areas surrounding the rivers of the Netherlands. The project ran from 2006 to 2015, and included the relocation of dykes, lowering the level of the floodplains, reducing groin height, constructing green channels and removing obstacles across the Rhine and other rivers in thirty-four locations across the country. H+N+S undertook one of the largest projects as part of the Room for the River national project by constructing the Reevediep, or new river arm to channel water during high tides and flooding. The project allows for large fluctuations in the amount of water flowing through the river in the future, and includes wetlands, as well as cycling and hiking tracks, as well as the possibility to sail through the delta. In addition to these recreational opportunities, new bridges that can flood without being damaged were built spanning the river, and an elongated island was created in the center of the river, where visitors are exposed to river dynamics. The project emphasizes safety, but also spatial quality, which foregrounded the contributions of landscape architects.

2012 - 2016
296.5 acres
41 feet above sea level

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