Rotterdam water squares - Rainwater makes playing outside on the square in Rotterdam great fun
When heavy downpours hit Rotterdam, some parts of the city flood quickly. The city’s water system is not able to process large amounts of rain. With a clever redesign, squares in residential areas are able to catch the rainwater and drain it away in a controlled manner. At the same time, these water squares are an attractive meeting place in the neighbourhood.
Results
Benthem Square, with 1,800 m3 of water storage capacity, is an important example for future water squares. Because of its large scale, the project was expensive. One reason for this was that piling was needed to construct the water square. Smaller water squares are often less expensive. Funding was supported by a national government subsidy from the Beautiful Netherlands Innovation Programme (Innovatieprogramma Mooi Nederland) and an INTERREG subsidy from the European Union.
In addition to Benthem Square, other smaller water square projects have also been developed in Rotterdam, such as Bellamy Square in Spangen (borough of Delfshaven). This square includes a water square section with a storage capacity of 250 m3. The water square beneath Kleinpolder Square (borough of Overschie) consists of a basin that can receive overflow water from nearby surface water (primeval swamp). This basin is also used to store public sculptures. The sculptures are placed on plinths so they are not damaged by the water.
Rotterdam now uses the water square concept as part of its climate adaptation policy. The concept also received international attention, including at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai.
Contact person
Daniel Goedbloed
Municipality of Rotterdam
d.goedbloed@gw.rotterdam.nl