commissioned by
IABR and the City of Dordrecht

steering committee
George Brugmans, president IABR
Henk Kranendonk, director Urban Development, City of Dordrecht

lead designer
Adriaan Geuze, founding director West 8

research by design
EGM Architecten
Roemer Pierik, Zita Balajti, Pieter Korstanje, Ádám Petróczki, Heidi Sairanen, Iris de Baat, Edwin van de Velde, Wanja van Zoest

PosadMaxwan
Rients Dijkstra, Gijs de Haan, Ada Jaskowiec, Emma de Haan, Cateau Albers, Lisa Gerards, Gianluca Berardi, Laura Thomas

Studio Donna van Milligen Bielke
Donna van Milligen Bielke, Ard de Vries

VenhoevenCS Architecture + Urbanism
Ton Venhoeven, Martijn Tjassens Keiser, Eliza Mante, Nicolò Santini, Shuxin Chi

West 8
Adriaan Geuze, Marco van der Pluym, Aditya Athreya Rao

project team Dordrecht
Ellen Kelder, Berry Gersonius, Edwin van Son, Rik Heinen

production and planning IABR
Johanna Fuhler, Vivian Ammerlaan

We thank the following people for their critical reflection and/or their contribution to expert sessions:
Bas Kolen and Duco Hoogland, Marcel Knapen, Anouk Ros, Cor Schipper, Esmée te Velde, Stanford Wilson and Niek de Wit

director IABR–Ateliers
George Brugmans

IABR initiates and produces the IABR–Ateliers in the Netherlands as a lead partner of the Dutch National Government within the framework of the ARO, the Action Agenda for Spatial Design 2017–2020 of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

The IABR–Atelier Dordrecht’s work on De Staart has accelerated since March 2020. New measures under the EU’s Water Framework Directive came in handy here as it ensured closer collaboration between the various stakeholders in the area, including Rijkswaterstaat (Department of Waterways and Public Works). The quest for a new tidal environment culminated in a workshop that was held in the Sliedrecht part of national park De Biesbosch and attended by representatives of the City of Dordrecht, Rijkswaterstaat, Staatsbosbeheer (Federal Forest Service), West 8, the IABR and the Wantij Foundation. They visited the Wantij and De Biesbosch by boat to map the various dilemmas and opportunities of the area.

The City of Dordrecht also took the initiative to ask West 8 to develop a new map that represents the vision for the entire De Staart area, in convergence with the research of the IABR–Atelier. This will prevent fragmentation, create a solid and integrated spatial framework in which urban as well as landscape development can be embedded, and allow the design, in collaboration with Staatsbosbeheer and Rijkswaterstaat, of an environmental strategy for the entire area to which all stakeholders can agree.

Vision map for De Staart in Dordrecht

^{© West 8}

Next steps
In the spring of 2020 lead designer Adriaan Geuze, in consultation with the IABR and the City of Dordrecht, formulated and coordinated the concrete design objectives of IABR–Atelier Dordrecht. Preparations included the clear formulation of five distinct research assignments to be integrated in the overall plan for De Staart that will be developed by Geuze and his West 8 team.
Subsequently, elements were singled out that represented exemplary possibilities in the fields of urban development and escape routes and peak absorption. These are not only of interest to the City of Dordrecht and De Staart, but can also be used in other, comparable locations in the Netherlands.
Next was a search for the right designers for the job and the commissioning of five assignments to broaden specific subjects, the results of which Geuze and his team will incorporate into an integrated system analysis of De Staart, explaining the connection between the five research by design efforts and creating a clear overall picture of the possible future development of De Staart – of what Dordrecht can want.

The Atelier’s main question – How can something which the city of Dordrecht may need temporarily at some point, that is, a safe haven in the event of flooding, serve as a lever for the permanent sustainable area development of De Staart today? – is leading in all further research. In addition, all designers have been tasked to take ample note of the Sustainable Development Goals in their research by design, in accordance with the framework of the IABR's main objective, so that this IABR–Atelier too can contribute to the design of socially inclusive and sustainable cities.

First sketch of an escape route

^{©VenhoevenCS}

Five research assignments
Climate Adaptive Escape Route
Dordrecht has a historical renaissance center that is garlanded by disconnected suburbs. There is no fast, direct route to the inner city and therefore Dordrecht locals, including those of De Staart, often opt for the car rather than the bicycle. This being the case, is it possible to roll out a new micro-mobility route as a day-to-day main route between De Staart and the city center that will naturally and recognizably double as the route to the safety of De Staart in the event of a disaster?
Another important research question, besides the question regarding sufficient capacity in the event of a disaster, is the one regarding the feasibility and recognizability of a climate adaptive escape route. How does one ingrain such a future escape route into the collective consciousness through daily use without confronting people with a possible disaster day in and day out?
VenhoevenCS, an authority in the field of infrastructural development and new forms of urban mobility, will take on this task together with experts from the City of Dordrecht and an external safety advisor in the field of escaping and escape behavior.

City of High-Density
A second research question focuses on the design of a new high-density city district, with subcultures and the accompanying facilities, and connected to the public transportation network. This assignment focuses specifically on the part of De Staart that the City of Dordrecht will probably develop first (after Stadswerven). This choice guarantees a swift realization.
In the event of a disaster, this part of the city must be able to function self-sufficiently (in terms of, for example, electricity, food, water, and waste disposal); it will have to be able to accommodate 60,000 people for at least a week.
This assignment goes to Milligen Bielke’s Studio Donna, a young office that approaches urbanism and the use and users of the city in an innovative way, accentuating the discussion about what the new city can be.

In addition, students of Eindhoven University of Technology, under the guidance of Tom Veeger, are examining how this originally industrial area can be transformed to accommodate a diverse urban life with a maximum mix of functions.

New Live-Work Environments
The third research question focuses on the combination of living and working. Which building typology can facilitate a maximized mix of start-ups, light maritime industry, dwelling, and recreation? Is it possible to ‘capture’ the desired urban activity in a new prototypical building with rents that are as low as possible and spaces that are maximally flexible? One that allows people to both live and work in the building and experience its urban dynamics right from the start? This assignment will be realized at the Stadswerven municipal shipyard, because it offers opportunities for a good financing mix. The Atelier commissioned the Dordrecht office EGM, which will collaborate with economists associated with the City of Dordrecht and with builders who have experience with maximum standardization.

De Grote Rug
De Staart also includes De Grote Rug, a large reservoir owned by water company Evides. Serving as an emergency reservoir, its size impacts its operational management. Deepening and halving the reservoir contributes to the reduction of blue-green algae production and ensures lower maintenance costs. De Grote Rug is situated on the Wantij, close to the railway, and is therefore possibly an interesting location for Living on Water. Is it possible to create a floating city here, one that has to be self-sufficient as well?
This is the question on which urban designer and former government advisor on infrastructure and the city Rients Dijkstra is working together with his students at Delft University of Technology. They will carry out research by design into a water city, partly floating, partly on the waterfront: a form of urbanization that may well be the most climate-adaptive in the Netherlands in the future.

The Wantij
The Wantij plays an important part in the plan for De Staart. Currently this tidal river has relatively little to offer local residents, it does not really contribute to a better quality of life, there is no nature development ongoing and residents of De Staart can barely access the area directly. West 8 will examine how nature development along the banks of the Wantij and the reintroduction of the Griend as a cultural-historical element can add value to both the urban character and biodiversity of this part of Dordrecht.

The results of these five substudies were presented in the IABR–exhibition THE HIGH GROUND in Dordrecht.

This year marks the 600^th anniversary of Dordrecht being hit by perhaps the greatest water disaster in Dutch history: the St. Elizabeth’s Flood of 1421. It turned the city into an island, which it still is to this day, making it very vulnerable to flooding. Water safety therefore has the highest possible priority. In the IABR–Atelier Dordrecht, with Adriaan Geuze as lead designer, the IABR and the municipality of Dordrecht are exploring how water safety can be used as a lever for sustainable area development. The IABR–Atelier shows that De Staart, now an area with many problems and few prospects, can play an unexpectedly important role in realizing the Dordrecht water safety agenda if sustainable and inclusive urban development of new living-working environments is set in motion there.
The first results of the study were immediately and enthusiastically received by both the Safety Region and the City Council of Dordrecht. The final results will be presented in the Biesboschhal in De Staart: THE HIGH GROUND, an IABR–exhibition as part of the major St. Elizabeth’s Flood commemoration in Dordrecht, open to the public from July 3 through the end of August.

^{De Staart, Dordrecht - current situation}

Flexible City
The water-safety-as-a-leverage approach requires there to be flexible space in De Staart at all times, so that the extra square meters needed for peak water capture during a disaster can quickly be realized. By including the space needed to accommodate evacuees and other emergency facilities in the design process, an urban environment can be developed in which people not only live, but where there’s also ample space for recreation, education, and other public facilities. West 8’s system analysis reveals the contours of what is possible on De Staart: an inclusive and sustainable city, with functions and facilities close to where people live.

^{De Staart, Dordrecht - capacity study}

^{image: West 8, IABR–Atelier Dordrecht}

Choosing to Connect
The water-safety-as-a-lever approach also emphasizes the need for good connections, because De Staart must always be easily accessible to evacuees. The IABR–Atelier therefore argues for three new bridges over the Wantij, which would increase accessibility to De Staart for slow traffic and break it out of its current isolation. VenhoevenCS investigated what this would mean for the daily mobility system and designed a new, very recognizable route that better connects De Staart with the rest of Dordrecht and, in case of a disaster, can function as a safe and familiar escape route. In the event of a calamity, new facilities along this route (such as a theater or a mobility hub) function as the first shelter for evacuees, while, on a daily basis, they serve as a connecting element in the urban fabric.

^{New connections}

^{image: VenhoevenCS, IABR–Atelier Dordrecht}

Increasing Potential
Choosing to connect goes beyond the urban area of Dordrecht. West 8 designed a new recreational (cycling) route, from the center of Dordrecht across De Staart to Gorinchem, which connects various locations in the region. This increase in scale causes what are now local places to acquire an urban significance. For example, a community center becomes a pavilion with a beach that attracts people from all over the region. Moreover, thanks to the water-safety-as-a-lever approach, all these small-scale places for recreation acquire a second function: during an evacuation, for example, they can be used as central distribution points that many people know how to find easily. The Atelier’s leverage approach ensures an increase in the attractiveness and potential of such places.

Outdoor Space as a Starting Point
True to IABR's mission, the IABR–Atelier carried out a system analysis based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which demonstrated that the development of outdoor space should be a guiding principle in the design process.

^{De Staart, Dordrecht - public space as a mechanism}

^{picture: DVMB, IABR–Atelier Dordrecht}

The research by Studio Donna van Milligen Bielke (DMVB) shows that outdoor spaces are becoming even more important in the water-safety-as-a-lever approach because they will play a double role. In daily use they function as accommodations with specific qualities, but in case of flooding they can easily be transformed into infrastructure for evacuation. Designing a high-density, multifunctional city with water safety and the SDGs at the heart of the program of requirements therefore starts with designing the outdoor space.
Separate from the IABR–Atelier, but inspired by its approach, students of Eindhoven University of Technology investigated all kinds of variants and their outcomes.

^{De Staart, Dordrecht - public space as a mechanism}

^{picture: DVMB, IABR–Atelier Dordrecht}

Flexible Building
The IABR–Atelier makes an analysis at the city and neighborhood level, but also conducts research at the level of the building. If De Staart is to become a city with high density and many additional functions, and serve as a temporary refuge in case of an emergency, a flexible building typology is required. EGM architects designed a multifunctional building that can be produced cheaply and quickly. It has a modular structure that consists of a standard unit that can be divided and combined in different ways. The result is an affordable and sustainable building with a multifunctional base, ideal for start-up companies because rents can remain low – a rich and diverse live/work complex that can also accommodate a large number of evacuees in times of crisis.

^{De Staart, Dordrecht - The High Ground}

^{picture: EGM, IABR–Atelier Dordrecht}

Living on the Water
If a lot of people have to be temporarily accommodated in De Staart during a disaster, ensuring that there is always sufficient clean drinking water is an important issue. Halving the present, partially contaminated De Grote Rug Reservoir will result in higher water quality in the future. This will make a large expanse of water available for development of both nature and housing. Design office PosadMaxwan conducted research into how to realize high-density living on the water here, with an emphasis on the quality of the outdoor space and the relationship with the water. This resulted in a realistic and rich variety of outdoor space typologies that would result in a diverse city on the water.

^{Live on the Water - De Staart, Dordrecht}

^{image: Posad.Maxwan, IABR–Atelier Dordrecht}