New Port-Island Connector
Designing a landscape infrastructure frame to connect Voorne-Putten Island and the Port of Rotterdam
J. Huang (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
S Nijhuis – Mentor (TU Delft - Landscape Architecture)
M. Lub – Mentor (TU Delft - Urban Design)
MJ de Haas – Mentor (TU Delft - Theory, Territories & Transitions)
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Abstract
This research investigates the transitional landscape between the Port of Rotterdam and Voorne-Putten Island, with the objective of reconfiguring the relationship between natural systems and anthropogenic environments through the lens of landscape infrastructure. Situated at the forefront of the Rhine-Meuse Delta, this region has been substantially altered by land reclamation, industrial development, and urban expansion. These interventions have resulted in compounded spatial and ecological challenges, including freshwater scarcity, landscape fragmentation, land-use conflicts, and heightened vulnerability to climate change. The freshwater lake system—once a vital ecological and productive resource—is now increasingly compromised by saltwater intrusion, intensive agricultural practices, urban runoff, and extreme climatic events.
Informed by the theoretical framework of landscape-based urbanism, this study proposes the reorganization of hydrological-ecological networks, agroecological systems, and industrial-port functions through the implementation of multi-scalar landscape infrastructures. At the regional scale, the research identifies critical spatial tensions within the existing infrastructural landscape and proposes three interrelated strategies: a dynamic, climate-adaptive network; an ecologically inclusive network; and a network that fosters spatial identity and collective experience. The design methodology integrates spatial and temporal dimensions, positioning landscape infrastructure as a catalyst for the sustainable transformation of port-related territories and their surrounding productive landscapes.
By conceptualizing infrastructure as an operative structure, the project transcends conventional functionalist paradigms, embedding ecological, socio-cultural, and aesthetic dimensions into its design. The research demonstrates the potential of landscape to mediate between urban-industrial systems and vulnerable ecological zones, offering both a spatial prototype and a methodological contribution to the discourse on resilient urban development in deltaic territories.