This research explores the spatial implications of climate change and sea level rise on the Dutch Delta’s productive landscapes, focusing on integrating spatial design and water management within a risk framework. The transition from adaptive planning to planned adaptation is highlighted as crucial for addressing the unpredictability of climate change impacts, advocating for a shift in strategy from a reactive to a proactive approach in delta management. Design experiments play a central role in this research, employing critical cartography and sectional drawings as tools to analyse and synthesise localised adaptation strategies to the vulnerabilities posed by sea level rise. These design tools facilitate the exploration of innovative spatial responses that accommodate climatic uncertainties, contributing to the resilience and sustainability of the landscapes. Designing with uncertainties underpins the research methodology, embracing the unpredictability of future climate conditions as a foundation for developing adaptive spatial strategies. This approach entails a paradigm shift towards accommodation and planned adaptation, emphasising the need for flexible, integrated planning that can evolve over time. The research underscores the potential of nature-based solutions to synergise productive and protective systems, enhancing ecological, social, and economic resilience in the face of climate change and sea level rise. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks and design experiments, the research presents a forward-thinking vision for the Dutch Delta. It proposes a methodological approach to landscape and urban planning that navigates the complexities of climate adaptation, demonstrating how productive landscapes can be reimagined to thrive in an uncertain future.

'Satoyama 2.0.' presents an integrated approach within landscape architecture, establishing an inclusive framework for managing river landscapes, using Japan as a paradigm. The thesis proposes the integration of ecological preservation, cultural revitalization, and urban resilience into the design and management of river ecosystems. Prioritizing sustainable principles and strategies, interventions aim to understand and respect the diverse forms of existence, both human and non-human, interconnected with the river and its natural systems. Across research through design and design through research, this project develops and implements practices that mitigate the harmful impacts of modern development and occupation while fostering environmental management and cultural continuity. Advocating for a holistic approach that prioritizes harmony between human activities and the natural landscape, the proposition aims to promote the long-term sustainability and resilience of river landscapes, with Kameoka serving as a paradigm for these efforts. Categorizing landscapes into headwaters, hillsides, and flatlands, and employing a layer-based analysis, this design strategy interprets the dynamic interactions between humans and nature. Utilizing controlled flooding strategies and a layered approach to sustainable riverine landscape management ‘Satoyama 2.0.’ aims to mitigate the harmful impacts of modern development while fostering environmental management and cultural continuity. Bridging tradition and sustainability through agriculture practices intertwines cultural rituals and modern conservation efforts, ensuring the preservation of the ecological and spiritual sacredness of the Satoyama forest.

This booklet is the attempt to synthesize the work developed by a multidisciplinary group of Master students from TU-Delft during the Landscape elective course OnSite. The course revolves around the design and the construction of a temporary project in a landscape setting, preceded by extensive exploration of the site. During the course, the students were given the unique chance to experience the land in multiple forms, and later on, feel the impact of their intervention. We were assigned to work in the area called Land of Chabot, located in the north of Rotterdam, where the famous painter Henk Chabot (1894-1949) used to live. The area is constrained by the Rotte River on the north, an untouched forested area on the right and a relic of the original agricultural polders and on the left. It is currently being cut in the middle by the construction of the A16 motorway, which leads to deep structural and symbolic transformation of the landscape. Chabot used to paint this landscape, evoking the essence of the land by his raw, harsh, and bold brushstrokes. Another powerful characteristic of his work are the different viewpoints from which he paints the land, bringing the viewers to experience its openness and contemplate the land to its fullest. Today, the land of Chabot is a fragment of an open farmland tissue that once surrounded the whole city of Rotterdam, and that has been profoundly changed over the years. The reason why this specific piece of land remains, is the construction of the A16 motorway that is now happening, after 30 years of planning. A huge contradiction arises due to the fact that the highway that is disrupting the land by carving it in the middle, is the very same reason why this land has been kept preserved over the years. During the design process of our intervention, we aimed to tackle the cultural and symbolic significance of this place, and mostly, what new meanings and ways to see this landscape could take place now, given its inevitable current transformations. We dived into Chabot’s paintings and tried to capture his shifting horizon - that is different when viewed from the Rotte than when viewed from the dike, from the house where Chabot lived and worked, or from the polder floor. Our intervention became an attempt to descend into this land in order to see it.