Waterfront and Kade 05 Harderwijk

Starting in the middle of the twentieth century, the historic inner city of Harderwijk was gradually cut off from the water. The polluted and dilapidated Haven industrial estate is now being converted into an attractive residential environment with a network of navigable channels. We made a preliminary design for this whole complex, ‘Waterfront’. Kade O5 forms part of it. For this complex of dwellings and apartments we designed an inner courtyard with wooden pergolas and a landing stage balcony for the homes that face the water.

For the inner courtyard of Kade 05 we designed a green oasis with space for people of all ages and animals while at the same time serving as a car park. An attractive, green inner garden open to the public with many shady corners. We create this shade not only by planting trees, but also by using a wooden pergola in the garden and wooden constructions against the outside walls. These wooden constructions are aligned with the landing stages around the homes that overlook the water. The result is a clear relation between the inside and the outside world.

The wood and greenery in the inner garden soften the stone edges of the buildings. Guiding the greenery upwards along the rigid lines of the pergolas and the wooden constructions not only creates an interesting interaction with the playful vegetation but also brings the greenery even closer to the residents, who all have a private terrace on the first floor. As the pergola construction surrounds the parking lots, they are not a disruptive element in the green oasis to enjoy, play in and rest.

The climate-adaptive and biodiverse surroundings are reinforced by the wadi in the garden. This is not only an attractive place for children to play, but also provides rainwater catchment, giving the water time to infiltrate the soil and to be retained. This avoids peak moments that could put pressure on the sewage system, and there is a water buffer in the soil which will come in very useful in times of drought. Many native animal species are sometimes dependent on a single host plant. That is why in selecting the trees and plants we have chosen domestic plants as much as possible. The creatures that find food and shelter in the garden can find nesting places in the nature-inclusive buildings that surround the garden with 24 nesting boxes for swallows and bats.

The inner garden we created: is rich in vegetation with attention for biodiversity; enables people to enjoy the greenery, the birds and the succession of the seasons at close quarters;  is open to all with different possibilities for use; affords an attractive play area for children – for example, they can hang swings from the pergolas and there is even a picnic table; contributes to climate adaptation by countering heat stress; deals with the phenomena of heavy downpours and extreme drought in an intelligent way through water catchment and retention; has parking lots for bicycles and cars without their presence being an eye-sore; has subtly integrated lighting with appropriate fittings.

The green inner garden forms an interesting contrast with the hard, more industrial image of the outer flank of the island.