The Netherlands has a long and fascinating history with water to keep its land safe and dry. Recently, when the country is exposed to a changing climate, it is at the turning point to shift from defensive water control to adaptive and integrated management. Landscape design has a role to play in endowing water and water management with new values and enabling the water as well as its related natures are adapted to be more resilient for the future.

The study area Baakse beek has a rich context in which the prominence of water greatly decides the water management and the landscape and also exposes the area to the challenge of climate change. Hence, one aim of this study is to review the local historical water management approach and take values from them to bring back wetness conditions and water balance. The long history with water also means there are many opportunities (ecology, aesthetic, and cultural heritage) in the area, but the difficulty is how to weave together ecological function and spatial experience in landscape design. So, the second aim of this study is to find ways to communicate ecological function through spatial design.

Through exploring the history with water over time, three categories of local historical water management approaches are summarized and they are adjusted to different water retention and ecological principles to formulate design strategies involving stream re-naturalisation, water retention, and water purification. For design, the core is to provide human with pleasure from the landscape appearance that involves beneficial ecological functions. landscape design needs to communicate ecological function and to conform to our cultural expectations of naturalness. This is achieved through two approaches, spatial modification, which gives an overall framework of landscape experience and cue to care, which gives hints of maintenance and neatness.

The design explorations take place on various scales and locations. Selected design principles are assigned to the most suitable locations in the Baakse beek catchment area to preserve and strengthen the landscape characteristics of each sub-area. Two landscape ecology models and two design options for spatial experience are built in the Medler-Wiersse cluster, estate landscape, to test various ways to bridge the gap between the environment and spatial experience. Combinations provide design possible options towards alignment between landscape ecology and spatial experience.