twitter
Follow us
Room for the River Waal winner of the Waterfront Award
On October 29th the Room for the River Waal Project near Nijmegen was presented with the annual Waterfront Award 2011 in New York. The jury praised the innovative integration of water safety and urban development, stakeholders’ involvement during the planning process as well as the international component and knowledge-sharing between European partners.
In previous years, the award has been presented to cities such as Sydney, Hong Kong and New York. “We are very proud to be part of this list of world class cities. This award demonstrates that Dutch knowledge in relation to water management is still internationally recognised”, said Ingwer de Boer, director of the national programme Room for the River. The Waterfront Center is an international institution that aims to stimulate urban waterfront development and organises annual conferences in the United States and Canada.
The Room for the River programme was initiated by the Dutch national government to implement over 30 measures which, combined, will ensure that the river region in the Netherlands will comply with required safety standards until 2050. The Room for the River Waal Project near Nijmegen – costing 350 million euro – is the biggest and most notable of all of these measures. The project entails relocating the dyke which encloses the northern bank of the River Waal at Lent 350 metres inland in order to widen the river bed. A secondary channel of approximately 3 kilometres will be excavated to contribute to the discharge of excess water. A new island will then appear between the river and the lateral channel - a unique location in the Dutch river area, where space will be allocated to housing, nature and recreation.
Jan van der Meer, alderman of the urban development in Nijmegen is particularly delighted with the award. “It is an appreciation of the hard work we have done and proves that the threat of flooding can be turned into a great opportunity for urban development. Water is both our enemy and our friend”, he says.
Figure 1: from left to right Jonathan Goldstick (Waterfront Center), Cor Beekmans (Rijkswaterstaat), Maartje Wise (Haskoning Inc USA), Mathieu Schouten (Nijmegen), Marten Hillen (Royal Haskoning Netherlands), [sitting] Pim Nijssen (Nijmegen). Provided by Willard Whitson
Figure 2: from left to right Maartje Wise (Haskoning Inc USA), Cor Beekmans (Rijkswaterstaat), Mathieu Schouten (Nijmegen), Pim Nijssen (Nijmegen) and Marten Hillen (Royal Haskoning Netherlands). Provided by Willard Whitson.
On October 29th the Room for the River Waal Project near Nijmegen was presented with the annual Waterfront Award 2011 in New York. The jury praised the innovative integration of water safety and urban development, stakeholders’ involvement during the planning process as well as the international component and knowledge-sharing between European partners.
In previous years, the award has been presented to cities such as Sydney, Hong Kong and New York. “We are very proud to be part of this list of world class cities. This award demonstrates that Dutch knowledge in relation to water management is still internationally recognised”, said Ingwer de Boer, director of the national programme Room for the River. The Waterfront Center is an international institution that aims to stimulate urban waterfront development and organises annual conferences in the United States and Canada.The Room for the River programme was initiated by the Dutch national government to implement over 30 measures which, combined, will ensure that the river region in the Netherlands will comply with required safety standards until 2050. The Room for the River Waal Project near Nijmegen – costing 350 million euro – is the biggest and most notable of all of these measures. The project entails relocating the dyke which encloses the northern bank of the River Waal at Lent 350 metres inland in order to widen the river bed. A secondary channel of approximately 3 kilometres will be excavated to contribute to the discharge of excess water. A new island will then appear between the river and the lateral channel - a unique location in the Dutch river area, where space will be allocated to housing, nature and recreation.
Jan van der Meer, alderman of the urban development in Nijmegen is particularly delighted with the award. “It is an appreciation of the hard work we have done and proves that the threat of flooding can be turned into a great opportunity for urban development. Water is both our enemy and our friend”, he says.Figure 1: from left to right Jonathan Goldstick (Waterfront Center), Cor Beekmans (Rijkswaterstaat), Maartje Wise (Haskoning Inc USA), Mathieu Schouten (Nijmegen), Marten Hillen (Royal Haskoning Netherlands), [sitting] Pim Nijssen (Nijmegen). Provided by Willard Whitson
Figure 2: from left to right Maartje Wise (Haskoning Inc USA), Cor Beekmans (Rijkswaterstaat), Mathieu Schouten (Nijmegen), Pim Nijssen (Nijmegen) and Marten Hillen (Royal Haskoning Netherlands). Provided by Willard Whitson.
