Symphony for the dike

Abstract

The Delflandsedijk is one of the most important dikes in the Netherlands, protecting the Delt’s residents from constant flooding. In Maassluis it runs parallel to the river Het Scheur and is located less than 450 meters from a pleasant boulevard, where many people walk or bike daily. It is the boundary of Het Balkon, a recent functional neighbourhood of Maassluis, whose residents are mainly kids and people between 35-50 years old.

Walking along the Delflandsedijk is a disturbing and lonely experience. There are very few people over there. Merged into the urban landscape of Maassluis, it performs as a utilitarian element, emitting safety notes (not perceived by people) in a non-orchestrated urban landscape, with a very poor environment, where sounds are reflected and reverberated since it is a flat area, with very few absorption surfaces and elements. It is an underused and under-vegetated public space, muted for social interaction opportunities. There are no “sounds of life” such as conversations, laughs, screams or cries. Sounds of birds, insects or other non-human lives are insignificant and there are moments of almost silence. The systematic sounds of the metro and its gate alarms are very intense and combined with vehicle traffic, especially during rush hours, mask any other sounds.

This research values the utilitarian character of the Delflandsedijk and other Dutch dikes, highlighting their richer urban landscape and a great public space for people, where multiple uses and functions can occur. It can become a robust and resilient landscape by connecting local fragmented green structures (enriching biodiversity) while promoting well-being, health and social interactions.

To achieve that, landscape architecture was defined and understood phenomenologically, with a human-centered perspective that allows people to relate to it and find meaning in it. This particular landscape was investigated and understood as such, using our sensory capacities to extract and collect information to find answers to the posed problem.

Through the lenses of Soundscape ecology, a “Catalogue of soundscape design” was developed to show design possibilities within this theoretical approach, which is an important contribution to landscape architecture studies, since there are scarce references for this topic.

Furthermore, a practical application of the soundscape designs from the catalogue was implemented through a landscape project for a city park on the Delflandsedijk in Maassluis.

Soundscape ecology is confirmed as essential for urban design, as it effectively addresses the complexity of the human-environment relationship. Natural environments have the potential to provide psychological restoration for people and living organisms and soundscape is being proved to be a great asset in this regard.

Resilient and robust landscapes can be built using a soundscape approach and as a result, we can create great places for people to live, work, sport, enjoy nature, recreate, play, eat, rest or simply listen to the sounds that are there.