From defence line to lively community _ Urban design of the New Dutch Waterline in Utrecht

+Inundation

+Fort +Ditch New Dutch Waterline in the Netherlands

Forts of the New Dutch Waterline

+Inundation +Defence +Defense Dutch Polder Tradition Plan Area

+Fort

+Inundation

+Ditch Inundation of the New Dutch Waterline

+Urabn Expanation

The New Dutch Waterline The New Dutch Waterline was built to defend Holland, the west part of the Netherlands and is 85 km long. It comprised of a system of waterworks for inundating and military elements for troops. Large areas of agricultural land (polders) were flooded with a layer of approximately 40-60 cm of water. During the war period, the traditional drainage system of the polder landscape is transformed into a 3-4 km wide defense line and could not be crossed by enemies on foot or horse. Therefore, the inundation fields formed the invisible part of the defense line.

+Inundation

+Defense +Military

+Pump station

+New Settlement

+Inundation The New Dutch Waterline

The New Dutch Waterline in Utrecht

Soldiers on the New Dutch Waterline

Water direction during the normal days

Water direction during the war

Polder

Polder Inundation

Dry period Wet period

Boezem

Polder

Boezem

Polder

Windmill

Boezem

Boezem Water direction on the ditch Pump station Pump direction Pump out Pump in Boezem

Windmill

Polder Water direction during the flooding Inundation area Fort

Heritage, also Infrastructure Pumps and sluices guide the water out of the deep lying polders, but in war-time the water could be directed into the polder.

This water system is reformed from the typical Dutch water system, boezem-polder system. The boezem-polder system can brings the polder water into the sea finally. Normally the land is drained for agricultural use, but in war-time the water could be directed into the polder.

Bunker

Sluice

Ditch Dike Ditch

1920 Expected population growth in the Netherlands until 2040

1975

2010

Urban Expansion of Utrecht by now

Challenge I : Water Management

Challenge II : Illegible Heritage

Challenge and Opportunity The urbanization happening in this area bring three problem, water management challenge, fragment and illegible heritage.

The defensive line was separated by the infrastructure and urban fabric. It is becoming harder to read the waterline as linear landscape and inundation area. This unique historic legacy was threatened with the loss of its unity as a spatial entity and special memory. With the climate change, how to improve the water system and expand city in a resilient way becomes a big challenge.

This proposal is inspired by the urbanization in this area. The forts are colonized by the citizens spontaneously. Citizens live inside the heritage and heritage has become part of their life. Therefore, an opportunity show up: is it possible to combine the urbanization and heritage protection?

Challenge III : Fragmented urbanization without A Big Image

Inspiration: Heritage as Village

Segregated forts

Boezem-polder system

De-fragment

Resilient water management

Territorial park system for legible heritage

Representation of inundation

Heritage park layer

Water management layer

Proposed Urban Intervention layer

Present Urban layer

From Defence Line to Lively Community Belt Functional Infrastructure

Narrative Heritage

Territorial park system Narrative water infrastructure

Landscape as Machine Landscape as Language

I TERRITORY PARK SYSTEM AS HERITAGE STRUCTURE It aims to make use of the NDW structure to build a territory park system to frame the fragmented heritage and create a resilient urban water system.

Territory park system comprise three parts, green space around the heritage elements, water parks for resilient city and energy parks. New park system makes the fragmented heritage into a spatial entity which can be experienced. Water parks and energy parks not only provide the water management service and energy supply, but also represent the inundation image in a new way.

III COMMUNITY ALONG THE NEW DUTCH WATERLINE

Four Strategies for Urbanism along the Waterline

The NDW will be the structure of the community and urbanization will happen along the NDW to protect the spatial features and active the forgotten linear heritage.

Settlement will be expand along the original dike of the NDW and the concrete groundwork of house combining with the dike will enhance the capacity of water defense. Inundation image will show up seasonally in these citizens’ daily life. Linear community will not destroy the open spatial feature, but active the experimental route.

II FROM BORDER TO LIVELY STREET To enhance the accessibility of the NDW, the old city border, old elevated motorway will be transformed to a lively street.

With the development of the city, the old infrastructure like the motorway does not function and becomes the barrier.

Fast traffic will be separated to other urban road and it will be possible to cross.

Space will be released as community public space by lowering down the motorway on the dike to ground. This street will be re-programmed based on the surrounding situation and the transportation will be organized more for the pedestrian and cycling. Some old structure are remained and changed into public space in a narrative way.

IV THE FORT AS COMMUNITY CENTER The closed forts and bunkers will be transformed to community center as the engine of this urban belt. Different program will be added according to the population structure of the community and existing facilities.

I TERRITORY PARK SYSTEM AS HERITAGE STRUCTURE

Heritage

nursery

flooding wetland

old building

forest

new building

farmland

green house

paved area

seasonal flooding

lawn

river

plaza

tram

sport field

road

trees

path

Path connecting different forts in complex environments

expand the path as a park

shooting range as a framework

seasonal wetland for cultural narrative and resilient water management

Site Plan Fort Lunet Park in the New Dutch Waterline Park System in Utrecht

combine the two strategy as the basic framework

II FROM BORDER TO LIVELY STREET N

2m

10m

20m

III COMMUNITY ALONG HERITAGE ROUTE + IV THE FORT AS COMMUNITY CENTER

Dike House for a safer and lively community and good view experience

Diversified house type will be meet the need of diversified population structure

Forts and bunkers will be programed as different community centers

Phase 2

Phase 3

Scenario 1: neighborhood Phase 1:narrative urban structure

The new neighborhood starts from the new stop of tram, the junction of tram line and road

Neighborhood can expand along the tram lie and face the wetland and forest.

Excepting the sport fields kept in the forest, the new sport fields will extend along the shooting range and juxtapose along the tram line. The new stop of tram works as key people flow distribution center of the sport park.

The sport park can expand to lower area and the lowest part can be built as green space for the crowd.

The new agriculture field will start from the space near the plaza and lowland.

New agriculture can expand across the area and shape a new framework layer for efficiently farming.

Scenario 2: sport park

Scenario 3: urban farm

Urban forest, seasonal wetland and infrastructure shape the basic framework as the kick-off project.

Scenario Case of the urbanization framework: Fort Lunet Park