OKRA landscape architects and Nelen & Schuurmans are selected to develop innovative and climate-proof District Development Plans Water and Green for the city of Antwerp in the coming years. The aim is to prepare Antwerp’s districts for the consequences of climate change, such as extreme rain, heat and drought.
Green and water awareness
The District Development Plans Water and Green contains concrete guidelines for the (re)construction of public spaces and indicates where and how to give water and greenery a strategic and qualitative place in the streetscape at the district level. Several solutions and scenarios are offered to work in the short and long term towards climate-proof and healthy ‘neighbourhoods of tomorrow’. For example, a strategy is being developed to bring greenery and water back into the streetscape and create pleasant places that form a buffer during extreme rainfall and offer coolness during hot summer days. Increasing the awareness of green and water in the city is also an important point of attention in the district development plans for water and green.
Interdisciplinary team
For the District Development Plans Water and Green OKRA is working together with Nelen & Schuurmans, a renowned consultancy specializing in water management and climate adaptation. The team is supported by Belgian partners Createlli (communication), Atelier Ruimtelijk Advies (engineering), Driekwart Groen (ecology) and AGT (hydrology). In this way, OKRA is working in an interdisciplinary team to create a resilient and climate-resilient green-blue neighbourhood design in Antwerp and is giving shape to its ambition to strengthen the relationship between knowledge, design and implementation.
‘It is a unique opportunity to be able to work at such an important location on a project where so many facets of our profession come together,’ says project manager Steffen Nijhuis of OKRA. ‘With this assignment, we can significantly contribute to the climate adaptive design of the districts of tomorrow in Antwerp.’
OKRA has been working for many years on urban design and landscape assignments in various locations in Belgium, including Brussels, Kortrijk (Courtrai), Leuven and Mechelen (Mechlin).