The demand for a more conscientious and integrated design process in urban infrastructure design arises from the realisation that the environmental crisis can only be addressed by enhancing the resilience of the built environment (Amirzadeh, Sobhaninia, and Sharifi, 2022). Resilience can be achieved through a meticulous design process that seamlessly integrates spatial design and engineering in a smart way <Cutter et al., 2008>. However, since the era of industrialisation, civil engineering and spatial design have evolved into fields with distinct cultures and languages, characterised by protocols and efficient organisation in multidisciplinary cooperation. Meanwhile, the core of urban infrastructure design remains inherently interdisciplinary (Hadfield-Hill, 2020). ... Read more

This report investigates how embankments in Bangladesh could be upgraded with no or limited footprint increase. Many Bangladesh embankments need to be upgraded to improve flood protection. Traditionally, embankments are upgraded by adding more soil, heightening the crests while simultaneously widening the embankment maintain slope stability.
However, in many cases there is insufficient space for embankment widening. Case studies show that in Bangladesh, private assets often directly border embankments at both the landward and seaward side. Also land is scarce in general and the land directly adjacent to embankments is often in use by the communities. For traditional embankment heightening and widening, these buildings need to be (re)moved. So owners of private assets and land need to be identified and compensated and the land must be acquired leading additional project costs and delays.
This problem could be mitigated by using embankment upgrade techniques with a limited footprint increase. This requires knowledge of the available techniques and their suitability in the Bangladesh situation. Therefore, this study aims to provide an inventory of low-footprint embankment up-grade techniques used around the world, their (dis)advantages in terms of land use, risks, costs and O&M aspects, and their suit-ability for the situation in Bangladesh.
... Read more

Een integrerend systeemperspectief wordt als tegenkracht geplaatst tegenover de gebruikelijke bestuurlijke en sectorale structuren die een oorsprong hebben in taakverdeling, specialisatie en verdeling van bevoegdheden en verantwoordelijkheden. In het integrerende perspectief wordt ontwerpen aan de ene kant wordt opgevat als een creërende activiteit gericht op een oplossing voor een probleem en aan de andere kant als een onderzoekende activiteit voor toekomstverkenning en strategieontwikkeling. In de laatste betekenis speelt het ontwerpen meer een rol aan de voorkant van ruimtelijke opgaven, waarbij er nog geen heldere probleemdefinitie is, er sprake is van een onduidelijke oplossingsrichting, er geen inzicht is in de systeemimpact (ruimtelijk, technisch, sociaal) en waarbij de positie van stakeholders nog niet in beton is gegoten. Deze rol vervult het niet alleen vanwege de onzekerheden, maar ook vanwege het bieden van een open vizier voor kansen en mogelijkheden tijdens de verkenning. Inzichten worden gedeeld vanuit de ervaring met het ontwerponderwijs en het hieraan gerelateerde onderzoek en vanuit de verschillende ontwerpstudies die in samenwerking met uiteenlopende maatschappelijke actoren zijn geïnitieerd en uitgevoerd. Daaraan voorafgaand wordt een meer theoretisch kader geschetst, waarna de ontwikkeling en de toepassing binnen het onderwijs en onderzoek wordt beschreven. ... Read more

Het concept van Delta21, een integrale oplossing voor het waarborgen van de waterveiligheid, het faciliteren van de energietransitie en het herstel van natuurwaarde, leent zich uitstekend voor een integrale aanpak waar verschillende disciplines samenkomen. Een interdisciplinair platform waar studenten, onderzoekers en bedrijfsleven elkaar ontmoeten is het Delta Futures lab. Het verrijkt en ondersteunt masterstudenten om de missie-georiënteerde ingenieurs te worden die de maatschappij nodig heeft om de problemen in deltagebieden op te lossen. De gemeenschap van Delta21-studenten is een belangrijk onderdeel geworden van het Delta Futures lab. In dit artikel wordt een aantal voorbeelden van studentenprojecten gerelateerd aan Delta21 gepresenteerd. ... Read more

Pressure on land use in port an delta cities worldwide is increasing, and designing structures and strategies for protection seems possible only when considering multifunctional use. In the meantime, uncertainties about climate change and economic developments present problems in determining a flood protection level. This combined complexity requires technological and institutional innovations. One of these innovations is the concept of 'multifunctional flood defences'. Such defences can become relevant when necessary improvements in flood defence systems conflict with urban functions, when on-going urbanization requires more space, when public funds are under pressure, or when stakeholders pursue previously unthinkable combinations of functions such as a crematorium or parking garage in a dike. This article focuses on flood protection combined with buildings and objects, with a high degree of constructive integration. It explains how the approaches of engineering and spatial design can be integrated. In addition, it describes the involvement of stakeholders in these design projects. ... Read more

A lack of appropriate guidelines for the design and assessment hampers the development of multifunctional flood defenses like parking garages in quays and houses in dikes. The aim of the present paper, therefore, is to gain insight in the structural performance of multifunctional flood defenses and to provide a tool to evaluate design alternatives. For this purpose we have developed a generic method to determine the function of structural elements regarding flood
protection. A study of diverse multifunctional flood defenses showed that the derived structural element types are indeed generic. We then applied the method to a real case, which showed that it factually provides more clarity and insight in the advantages and disadvantages of adding functions to flood defenses. This method will therefore advance the design and application of
multifunctional flood defenses. ... Read more

Jeremy Bricker and Mark Voorendt study physical and human aspects of complex flood defenses. They each highlight three cases from their home country and discuss the approaches at both sides of the atlantic: different views on juxtaposition of infrastructure and nature and on separation versus integration of the human component. ... Read more

Flood risk reduction aims to minimize losses in low-lying areas. One of the ways to reduce flood risks is to protect land by means of flood defenses. The Netherlands has a long tradition of flood protection and, therefore, a wide variety of technical reports written and guidelines developed for designing and assessing typical flood defenses. These documents have been prepared by the Dutch Technical Advisory Committee for the Flood Defenses (Technische Adviescommissie voor de Waterkeringen, TAW) and apply to dunes, lower and upper river dikes, lake and sea dikes, water-retaining hydraulic structures, etc. These documents contain methods and criteria to determine the reliability of flood defenses, based on the present state of technology and research. ... Read more

In the context of urban planning, concepts of multiple land-use refer to situations were the existing space is more intensively used (Habiforum, cited in Hooimeijer et al, 2001). This can be achieved by morphological integration of functions (stacking of multiple functions in one building or construction), by mixed space use (multiple functions in a certain defined area) and by temporal shared-use of the same space. ... Read more

Multifunctional flood defences are structures that primarily protect land from being covered by water and simultaneously serve other purposes. The present dissertation focuses on the combination of flood protection with functions that are fulfilled by means of buildings and objects, with a high degree of structural integration. This can typically be found in the urban context, where the combination of long-term flood protection and spatial quality is considered crucial for the viability of cities along rivers and seas. The design of multifunctional flood defences is more complicated than of plain flood defences, as two incompatible design cultures are involved: spatial design and hydraulic engineering. Moreover, the structural composition of multifunctional flood defences is more complex and more diverse than of plain flood defences. Therefore, an overall, integrated, design method was developed that maintains the strengths of both existing approaches, but avoids their weaknesses. In addition, a method is proposed for the design phase of verifying the flood protection function. The methods were validated by design teams of students and by additional case studies. ... Read more

Multifunctional flood defenses combine several functions into a single system. Therefore, several disciplines need to be combined to design such complex systems. An “integrated design” is a collaborative method that combines several disciplines for designing systems or structures, emphasizing a ‘holistic’ approach. Holism is the concept of considering systems and their properties as wholes, not just a collection of parts. The functioning of the entire system cannot be fully understood solely in terms of their component parts. A holistic, integrated approach is believed to be more cost-effective and sustainable. ... Read more

Bij het ontwerp van multifunctionele waterkeringen spelen twee specifieke constructieve aspecten een rol: golfimpact en constructieve verificatie. Een onderzoeksprogramma van de TU Delft, Universiteit van Twente en Wageningen Universiteit heeft zich hierover gebogen. ... Read more

Multifunctional use of flood defences is seen as a promising solution for improving the synergy between flood protection and urban development. Combining the functions can, however, create unintended dependencies, which can influence the desired performance of the system in unexpected ways. Recognising the risks associated with these dependencies early during the conceptual design phase can help to improve the system capability to mitigate the resulting threats and to take advantage of the opportunities created. This paper examines the use of the ‘Functional Resonance Analysis Method’ (FRAM) for qualitative risk analysis of multifunctional flood defences. The method is customised and applied to a case study of a multifunctional flood defence in the Netherlands. The analysis results are used to identify the threats and opportunities that need attention during the design of a multifunctional flood defence and to propose recommendations for how to address them. It is concluded that FRAM can serve as a useful complement to the reliability analysis methods for enriching the risk analysis of multifunctional flood defences. ... Read more

Een onderzoeksprogramma van de TU Delft, Universiteit van Twente en Wageningen Universiteit heeft diverse ontwerpaspecten van zogenoemde multifunctionele waterkeringen onder de loep genomen. Dit artikel belicht het technisch en ruimtelijk ontwerpproces van dergelijke keringen, en het betrekken van stakeholders in dit proces. ... Read more

Several alternative concepts could be developed that would integrate the structure of the Roof Park shopping complex with the flood defense. It is common practice in engineering to develop various concepts, keeping the project goal in mind. This is a creative process that should not be hampered by overly precise descriptions of the desired performance. The provisionary concepts need to be verified in a later design step, to guarantee that the final solution meets the project requirements (see pages 62-65 for an explanation of the design method). This results in a limited number of realistic alternatives, one of which has to be selected for further development. This selection is usually done on the basis of a set of criteria that could be considered ‘soft’ requirements. ... Read more

Katwijk aan Zee is a Dutch town on the North Sea, near the original mouth of the Rhine. At the end of the twentieth century, part of the town of Katwijk appeared to be insufficiently protected against storm surges from sea (Figure 2). About 3000 inhabitants were in fact exposed to risks that were higher than what is considered acceptable in the Netherlands. ... Read more

Kenmerkend voor polders in Nederland zijn de vele waterkeringen die zorgen voor een fysieke scheiding tussen land en water. Aangezien men vanuit de polder tegen deze waterkeringen aan kijkt, ontstaat er echter ook een visuele scheiding. Kunstenaar Paul Izeboud kwam op het idee om deze visuele scheiding op te heffen door middel van een doorzichtige waterkering, in de vorm van een restauratieve voorziening met glazen elementen. Afstudeerder Jorrit Kentrop heeft het ontwerp nagerekend en aangepast, zodat het voldoet aan de eisen gesteld aan de constructieve veiligheid en aan de waterveiligheid. ... Read more

The Roof Park ('Dakpark’) is an elevated park on a former railway yard in the Delfshaven quarter in Rotterdam. The park is located on top of the roof of a new shopping centre, which includes a parking garage (hence its name, ‘dak’ means ‘roof’). The park is the largest green roof in Rotterdam and one of the largest in the Netherlands. The park offers a playground, communal garden and a Mediterranean garden with an orangery (figure 9). The Roof Park is 1,000 m long and 80 m wide. The park is situated 9 m above street level. There is 25,000 m2 retail spaces under the city park, and the structure includes a car park with space for about 750 cars. The gardens bring more nature to the district, and the project as a whole has provided more employment. The Roof Park is combined with a dike, the ‘Delflandse Dijk’, that is part of dike ring 14, which protects the urban area of the Randstad. ... Read more

De organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling schat dat in 2070 in grote havensteden wereldwijd 140 miljoen mensen en 30000 miljard euro aan economische waarde beschermd worden, Bescherming lijkt alleen mogelijk met multifunctionele waterkeringen. ... Read more