Today, Ruud Reutelingsperger of Observatorium and Marc Bukman of Steenhuis Bukman Architects present the Bron van Middelland.

Rotterdam is a real water city, where designers and the city together search for good solutions to the challenges water brings with it. For instance in the Middelland district, where there is a plan to create the Bron van Middelland in the direct vicinity of the Oostervant recreation center. Rainwater, groundwater and swimming water will be collected here and used in a sustainable way, to improve the water management in the neighborhood. Thanks to buffers and irrigation systems, the excess rainwater does not disappear into the sewer, but is used to irrigate a piece of urban landscape, a green zone for residents. In this way the water plan also strengthens Oostervant’s function as a meeting place: a socially inclusive environment where residents can relax and meet each other, and where sports and games, education and awareness of the consequences of climate change can go hand in hand.

During this High Noon, the designers of the Bron van Middelland, Ruud Reutelingsperger and Marc Bukman, talk with residents and the public about Middelland’s ambitious plans to become a resilient water district. They describe the principle of the first OostervantImpluvium and discuss in more detail how art, culture, design, and imagination can play a role in such a transformation process.