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Headoffice The Rijnland water board
Architect: Jan Brouwer Associates Nu: XX Architecten
Much of the Netherlands is below the current sea level. Roughly one third of the country. This part is mainly located along the coast of the North Sea. This coast is protected by dunes and dikes. The lowest point in the Netherlands, the Zuidplaspolder in South Holland, is no less than 6.76 m below the current sea level.
To ensure that the areas behind the dunes and dikes and below sea level remain dry, a system of good water management is needed. Water boards have been set up for this purpose.
The Rijnland water board is one of twenty-one water boards in the Netherlands. This water board is one of the oldest water boards. The first written record of the existence of hemraads (supervisors) can be found in a charter of 11 October 1255 by the Dutch count Willem II. This is the oldest item in the Rhineland archives.
The head office is located in Leiden at the edge off The Bio Science Park. The area in which Rijnland works extends from Wassenaar to Amsterdam and from IJmuiden to Gouda. This area, which covers more than 1,100 square kilometers, is bordered on the west by the North Sea. In this area, the water board ensures dry feet and clean water for approximately 1.3 million people and is an important administrative body in this area. Since January 2000, the head office in Leiden has been located in a modern office building on the edge of the Bio Science Park in Leiden. It is a major building in a striking place.
Before that, the Rijnland water board was housed in the monumental Gemeenlandshuis on Leidse Breestraat, a building that had already been purchased by the Rhineland authorities in 1578.
The organization was used to operating from different locations. Everyone came under the same roof for the first time in this new office. The assignment explicitly stated that the building had to be made of masonry. A requirement that has been subtly transformed into an elaboration with ceramic façade cladding, a system that was co-developed by Renzo Piano.
The building reflects the concern of the water board for the living environment and the environment: it is built according to the principles of sustainable construction. The building contains numerous innovations that regulate light and temperature naturally and energy-efficiently. It is constantly being examined whether newer applications for sustainability and energy efficiency can also be used. The building is therefore anything but static.
This also applies to the appearance of the building. From different sides it appears because of the different building elements and each time it forms a different building. The ceramic façade panels and white wooden window frames create a sense of unity and repetition in this game.
Gemaal De Cruquius uit 1849 is een van de drie gemalen waarmee de Haarlemmermeer tussen 1849 en 1852 is ingepolderd. Bovendien is het de grootste stoommachine ter wereld. Het gemaal is daarna nooit gemoderniseerd en is in 1933 buiten werking gesteld. Het is genoemd naar de Nederlandse waterbouwkundige Nicolaus Samuelis Cruquius, geboren als Nicolaas Kruik in 1678 te Vlieland. De imposante combinatie van techniek en architectuur
maken dat De Cruquius een industrieel archeologisch monument van wereldformaat is. Het gemaal heeft op zijn beurt de naam Cruquius gegeven aan het dorp in de nabijheid.
Dit is het gemaal de Cruquius in het dorp Cruquius in de Haarlemmermeerpolder.
Het dorp ontleent zijn naam aan de naam van het gemaal, dat op zijn beurt weer vernoemd is naar Nicolaus Samuelis Cruquius. Met dit gemaal heeft men --samen met nog twee gemalen, de Leeghwater en de Lijnden-- van 1849 tot 1852 het Haarlemmermeer leeggepompt teneinde de Haarlemmermeerpolder aan te leggen. In 1934 is Stichting de Cruquius opgericht die het stoomgemaal nadat het overbodig werd van de sloop heeft gered. Dezer dagen valt 'de Cruquius' onder het industrieel erfgoed en is in het gebouw Museum de Cruquius gevestigd.
Hoewel de originele stoominstallaties van eertijds niet meer operationeel zijn, wordt het mechanisme dagelijks meerdere malen met behulp van elektromotoren in beweging gebracht om de werking voor de bezoekers aanschouwelijk te maken.
Zoals te zien is het geheel opgetrokken in een neogotische stijl. Deze stilering beperkt zich echter niet tot het bouwwerk op zich. Ook de machinerie is waar mogelijk in dezelfde stijl ontworpen en gebouwd.
The steam mill Cruquius is itself a Netherlands 'Rijksmonument' for the steam history of the engine within, and it has also been declared an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is thought to be the largest steam engine – and certainly the largest beam engine – ever built. The engine was built by Harvey & Co, of Hayle, Cornwall. The diameter of the piston is 144 inches (3.7 m).
Outside, the ringvaart canal's system of sluices, mills, and bridges, are all part of the Stelling van Amsterdam, the main dike of which runs just north of Cruquius, through Vijfhuizen. Fort Vijfhuizen is used for art exhibitions and is a short walk north of the museum along the ringvaart. What is less known is that there is also a fort Cruquius, just south of the museum, that also has World Heritage status because of its link to the Stelling van Amsterdam.
The Cruquius Pumping Station was named a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1991.
I composed this photograph of a pleasing Amsterdam canal while visiting this city in May of this year. For those interested in the fascinating history of these waterways, read on.
Amsterdam was founded around 1250 with the building of the Dam that gave it its name. ‘Aeme Stelle Redamme’ is Medieval Dutch for: "Dam in a Watery Area".
The Dam is still there as the heart of the city. But today this former barrier between the River Amstel and the"Southern Sea" is one of the few places in the center of town that you cannot sail a boat to. The last part of the river leading to the dam fell victim to land-traffic in 1922. The street that came in its place is still called "Damrak", which is Dutch for: "Last section of the river, leading to the Dam."
The first canals were dug for water management and defence. As the city expanded in the Middle Ages, successive defence moats ended up inside the walls and lost their function. But they acquired an important new one: local transport of merchandise. The warehouses along the old moats could store enormous quantities of trading goods that could be`pipelined through those moat-canals to a harbour full of ships that sailed all over the world that was known in those days.
Trade exploded in the 17th century, Amsterdam's Golden Age. In one very ambitious expansion project that took 50 years, the 3 main canals of the city were dug and the houses around them were built. Completed around 1660, it made the city grow to 4 times its size and gave it the most intricate and efficient system of navigable waterways in the world. A maze of connecting canals brought merchandise from all over the world to the doorstep of every canalside merchant. A fleet of thousands of small barges carried the goods from the big ships in the harbor to every corner of the city. More than a thousand warehouses on the canal-sides were supplied by these man-powered barges. On top of that, 9 specialized floating markets catered to the daily needs of 17th century Amsterdammers. In those days, more goods were moved on barges in the canals by human power, than would even be possible today with trucks along the canalsides.
The 20th century needed space for cars and other land traffic. Many canals were filled in to make streets and parking spaces. Not without struggle: fierce protest had rescued the famous Seven Bridges of the Reguliersgracht already in 1901.
But in 1955, a local police commissioner still submitted a serious proposal to the City Council to solve all traffic problems by filling up all the canals to make highways. He was almost tarred and feathered for it. Amsterdammers are fond of their Canals.
Almost half of the original water in Amsterdam was lost to landfills, but a full 25 percent of the city's surface still consists of navigable waterways. With 65 miles of ancient canals, Amsterdam is still the most watery city in the world.
In the summertime, the canals can still be dense with sailing traffic. 15000 pleasure boats are registered in Amsterdam and the city is a favourite destination for private yachts from Germany and France. Eight local marina's serve their needs and two big new ones are under construction. A few times a year, at big events like the Queen's Day and the Gay Parade, traffic jams on the canals can get quite serious. Rest assured that on an average day, canal-tour boats dominate the scene on the usually quiet waterways.
In the old days, when the canals were still used for transport of merchandise, living on a houseboat was a sign of poverty in Amsterdam. But as their transport function dwindled in the last century, the old 'industrial' canals became upmarket residential area's. Old warehouses on the canalsides were converted to Deluxe apparment complexes. The barges that supplied them began a new life as comfortable houseboats with ample living spaces in their former cargo holds. They are all quite old. The oldest one was built in 1840 as a waterboat for fresh drinking water (Prinsengracht/Amstelveld). Many have been afloat for more than a century. Relative newcomers are the house-arks, floating bungalows that are usually built on a hollow concrete platform. These meet with increasing disapproval from local residents and Civil Authorities, who would like to see them move to canals with less historcal importance in the suburbs.
Most of the houseboats are private residences. Because of strict regulations, only a few have lodging space for rent legally.
Watermanagement is still the most important function of our canals. Without them, the city would drown. Circulating the water is also vital for sanitary reasons. In the days when windmills had to do the job, the stench of the water could become unbearable in periods with little wind or rain. One canal was even filled in for its stench by Royal Decree, from the only King who ever lived in Amsterdam.
Napoleon Bonaparte's brother Louis was King of Holland between 1806 and 1811. He had City Hall on Dam Square rebuilt to be his palace. The stench of the canal behind the palace kept his wife Constance from her sleep, so he ordered it to be filled in to make a "smart and respectable Avenue" The name of that street is still 'Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal', which translates into: "Front defence moat on the new side".
Today, the water in the canals is cleaner than it has ever been in their history. Three times a week, 14 of the 16 existing waterlocks around the city close up, so clean water can be pumped in from the big lake IJsselmeer. The current that creates pushes the dirty canalwater out through the open locks on the other side of the city. Specialized cleaning boats with big scoops and nets patrol frequently to clean surface dirt. Nowadays, all the houseboats in the city are connected to the sewer system. The cleaner water has attracted life. About 20 different species of fish and crabs live a healthy life below the surface. That bounty attracts waterbirds like herrons, ducks, coots, gulls and recently even cormorants.
Flowering ragwort (yellow) and loosestrife (purple red) determine the colors in the already partly flooded Noordwaard in the Biesbosch near the Dutch village of Werkendam, province of Noord-Brabant. The Noordwaard is filled with water from the adjacent Nieuwe Merwede river (which is filled by the Rhine and the Meuse) to prevent unwanted flooding elsewhere. Exactly as it was intended in the Room for the River project realized here. Only it is very exceptional that such a high water level occurs in the summer season.
Bloeiend Sintjacobskruiskruid (geel) en Grote Kattenstaart (paarsrood) bepalen de kleuren in de al deels ondergelopen Noordwaard in de Brabantse Biesbosch bij Werkendam. De Noordwaard wordt gevuld met water uit de aangrenzende Nieuwe Merwede rivier (die weer gevuld wordt door de Rijn en de Maas) om ongewenste overstromingen elders te voorkomen. Precies zoals dat bedoeld was in het hier gerealiseerde project Ruimte voor de Rivier. Alleen is het heel uitzonderlijk dat een dergelijke hoge waterstand voorkomt in het zomer seizoen.
Kinderdijk and much of Holland is situated up to approximately 7 meters below sea level. A combination of modern pumping equipment and windmills are used to keep water out of the low-lying land. Print Size 13x19 inches.
Happy Windmill Wednesday
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The Oosterscheldekering (in English: Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier), in the Dutch province of Zeeland, is the largest of the Delta Works series of dams and storm surge barriers, designed to protect the Netherlands from flooding from the North Sea.
This storm surge barrier is a waterwork that can be opened or closed. It is only closed during heavy storms at high tide. The Dutch Deltaworks is the largest watermanagement project in the world.The construction of the Delta Works was in reaction to the North Sea catastrophic Flood of 1953 in Zeeland.
Submitted: 13/05/2023
Accepted: 15/05/2023
Published:
- DPG Media NV (Belgium) 10-Jan-2025
- Hurricane Message LLC (LOUISIANA) 20-Aug-2025
A symmetrical night shot of the iconic Rozema Pumping Station (Gemaal Rozema) in Termunterzijl (Eemsdelta municipality). The modern architecture of the pumping station is dramatically illuminated by warm lights, with the reflection in the still water perfectly duplicating the structure. The photo elegantly captures the essential role of this building in Groningen's water management.
A imagem retrata a singular paisagem cultural de Sistelo, em Arcos de Valdevez, um exemplo notável de adaptação humana ao terreno acidentado do Alto Minho. Os socalcos, patamares construídos com muros de pedra granítica, transformaram encostas íngremes em solo arável, otimizando o cultivo e prevenindo a erosão. Esta técnica ancestral, transmitida ao longo de gerações, permitiu a produção de milho, feijão e outros bens essenciais. Integrada na paisagem, a arquitetura rural tradicional, com edificações em alvenaria de pedra, reflete a ligação intrínseca entre o património edificado e o ambiente agrícola. Este sistema agrícola, complementado por uma eficiente gestão hídrica através de levadas, demonstra uma simbiose secular entre o homem e a natureza. Reconhecendo o seu valor cultural, histórico e ambiental, Sistelo foi classificado como Monumento Nacional em 2017, a primeira paisagem cultural em Portugal a receber tal distinção, sublinhando a importância da sua preservação.
The image depicts the unique cultural landscape of Sistelo, in Arcos de Valdevez, a remarkable example of human adaptation to the rugged terrain of the Upper Minho. Terraces, built with granite stone walls, have transformed steep slopes into arable land, optimizing cultivation and preventing erosion. This ancestral technique, passed down through generations, has enabled the production of corn, beans, and other essential goods. Integrated into the landscape, the traditional rural architecture, with stone masonry buildings, reflects the intrinsic link between the built heritage and the agricultural environment. This agricultural system, complemented by efficient water management through levadas, demonstrates a centuries-old symbiosis between man and nature. Recognizing its cultural, historical, and environmental value, Sistelo was classified as a National Monument in 2017, the first cultural landscape in Portugal to receive such a distinction, underlining the importance of its preservation.
The H.C. de Jongh pumping station is located in the Dutch village of Aalst, in the province of Gelderland. The pumping station provides water intake and discharge for part of the Bommelerwaard. The building, dating from 1935, is a national monument.
Poldergemaal H.C. de Jongh in het Gelderse dorp Aalst. Het gemaal verzorgt de in- en uitlaat van water voor een deel van de Bommelerwaard. Het gebouw uit 1935 is een rijksmonument.
The gorge is 1.2 kilometers long. At its narrowest point the walls are only 3 meters apart! It was not made by erosion. It is a geological fault line, evidence of the movement of tectonic plates. Water, san and rocks smooth the walls over thousands of years.
The Main entrance to the hidden city of Petra goes through the impressive split in the rock called the Siq Petra.
Een paar maanden geleden is het Reevediep geopend, de nieuwe waterverbinding tussen het Drontermeer en de IJssel bij Kampen die bedoeld is voor een beter natuur- en watermanagement. De spoorbrug over dit water ligt er al sinds de opening van de Hanzelijn, maar aanvankelijk nog over het gras. De gesluierde avondzon draagt bij aan het wat surrealistische beeld hier van deze stek zo dicht bij Zwolle.
De 1616 heeft de 6418 en acht ketelwagens aan de haak als unit cargo 61300 Onnen-Kijfhoek.
A Paisagem Cultural de Sistelo, localizada no concelho de Arcos de Valdevez, é um exemplo emblemático de agricultura tradicional em socalcos, adaptada aos declives acentuados do vale do rio Vez. Este sistema agrícola, que utiliza muros de pedra seca para construir patamares, permite o cultivo de terrenos que, de outra forma, seriam improdutivos e contribui para o controlo da erosão e gestão das águas pluviais. Historicamente, a rotação de culturas como milho, feijão e pastagens para gado, aliada a técnicas de irrigação por levadas, reflete um conhecimento transmitido através das gerações. A importância desta paisagem culminou na sua classificação como Monumento Nacional e na candidatura a Património Mundial da UNESCO, reconhecendo a resiliência comunitária e a relação equilibrada entre o homem e o meio ambiente. Sistelo, frequentemente designada "Tibete Português" devido à sua aparência, revela a simbiose entre práticas agrícolas e biodiversidade, tornando-se um destino valorizado pelo turismo de natureza e ruralidade.
The Cultural Landscape of Sistelo, located in the municipality of Arcos de Valdevez, is an emblematic example of traditional terraced agriculture, adapted to the steep slopes of the Vez River valley. This agricultural system, which uses dry stone walls to build terraces, allows the cultivation of land that would otherwise be unproductive and contributes to erosion control and rainwater management. Historically, the rotation of crops such as corn, beans, and pastures for livestock, combined with irrigation techniques using levadas, reflects knowledge passed down through generations. The importance of this landscape culminated in its classification as a National Monument and its nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognizing community resilience and the balanced relationship between man and the environment. Sistelo, often referred to as “Portuguese Tibet” due to its appearance, reveals the symbiosis between agricultural practices and biodiversity, making it a valued destination for nature and rural tourism.
Headoffice The Rijnland water board
Architect: Jan Brouwer Associates Nu: XX Architecten
Much of the Netherlands is below the current sea level. Roughly one third of the country. This part is mainly located along the coast of the North Sea. This coast is protected by dunes and dikes. The lowest point in the Netherlands, the Zuidplaspolder in South Holland, is no less than 6.76 m below the current sea level.
To ensure that the areas behind the dunes and dikes and below sea level remain dry, a system of good water management is needed. Water boards have been set up for this purpose.
The Rijnland water board is one of twenty-one water boards in the Netherlands. This water board is one of the oldest water boards. The first written record of the existence of hemraads (supervisors) can be found in a charter of 11 October 1255 by the Dutch count Willem II. This is the oldest item in the Rhineland archives.
The head office is located in Leiden at the edge off The Bio Science Park. The area in which Rijnland works extends from Wassenaar to Amsterdam and from IJmuiden to Gouda. This area, which covers more than 1,100 square kilometers, is bordered on the west by the North Sea. In this area, the water board ensures dry feet and clean water for approximately 1.3 million people and is an important administrative body in this area. Since January 2000, the head office in Leiden has been located in a modern office building on the edge of the Bio Science Park in Leiden. It is a major building in a striking place.
Before that, the Rijnland water board was housed in the monumental Gemeenlandshuis on Leidse Breestraat, a building that had already been purchased by the Rhineland authorities in 1578.
The organization was used to operating from different locations. Everyone came under the same roof for the first time in this new office. The assignment explicitly stated that the building had to be made of masonry. A requirement that has been subtly transformed into an elaboration with ceramic façade cladding, a system that was co-developed by Renzo Piano.
The building reflects the concern of the water board for the living environment and the environment: it is built according to the principles of sustainable construction. The building contains numerous innovations that regulate light and temperature naturally and energy-efficiently. It is constantly being examined whether newer applications for sustainability and energy efficiency can also be used. The building is therefore anything but static.
This also applies to the appearance of the building. From different sides it appears because of the different building elements and each time it forms a different building. The ceramic façade panels and white wooden window frames create a sense of unity and repetition in this game.
Span: Complejo hidroeléctrico Futaleufú.
Clic 2x para máx' ampliacion.
Engl: Futaleufú Hydroelectric Complex.
Click 2x for maximum enlargment.
River water is very much important for domestic, agriculture and industrial use in Bangladesh which is in critical condition from long time based on research data. During last 40 years, extreme pollution events occurred in peripheral rivers surrounding Dhaka city and Karnaphuli River in Chittagong city.
River Karnaphuli, the lifeline of country's economy, is being polluted rampantly due to unabated dumping of toxic chemicals and solid wastes into the water from the riverside industrial units in Chittagong. As a result, the life of Karnaphuli as well as the future of Chittagong port is at risk due to the pollution. The locals and environment activists were demanding to save the river from pollution for long time.
Fifty-two small and large canals of the port city carry 22,000 tons of waste, both biodegradable and non-biodegradable, to the Karnaphuli River every day.
The port city of six million people produces a staggering 2500 tons of waste every day, which is dumped under the open sky in two landfills. Due to the absence of a proper waste management system, the waste gets washed away with rainwater and mixes with the river.
Besides, there are 400 slaughterhouses in the port city’s Firingi Bazar and Dewanhat areas alone . The blood from the slaughtered animals directly finds its way into the river.
A large amount of fuel is spilled whenever there is a collision between oil tankers. The thick layer of oil caused a shortage of oxygen in the water.
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Small weir in a stream for water level control in a Dutch polder. It's spring and young and fresh green grass and yellow flowering rapeseed add their colors to the landscape.
Span: Complejo hidroeléctrico Futaleufú.
Clic 2x para máx' ampliacion.
Engl: Futaleufú Hydroelectric Complex.
Click 2x for maximum enlargment.
The geology of Petra is fascinating. The sandstone that the city is carved into is from the Late Cretaceous period and is around 80 million years old. The rock is a deep red color due to the high iron content. The Nabataeans were able to carve such intricate buildings and sculptures into the sandstone because it is a relatively soft rock.
Diverting the Po drained larged parts of the Delta which from then could be used as farmland by rich Venetian families.
As you can tell by the images we had mostly dull weather. Yet in a way this just accentuates what i love most about this kind of landscape: the blurr of all distinctions be it between water and land or between the land and the sky. Everything seems somehow limitless.
Span: Complejo hidroeléctrico Futaleufú.
Clic 2x para máx' ampliacion.
Engl: Futaleufú Hydroelectric Complex.
Click 2x for maximum enlargment.
Gemaal Rozema, Termunterzijl, The Netherlands
This modern facility is part of the region's flood defences and replaced an older, smaller station.
As aldeias Amazigh de Marrocos, incrustadas em paisagens montanhosas como as do Atlas e em oásis pré-saarianos, representam um notável exemplo de arquitetura vernacular e adaptação ao meio. Construídas com materiais locais como adobe, pedra e madeira, estas povoações fundem-se com o ambiente natural, refletindo a rica cultura e história deste povo indígena, cujo nome significa "povo livre". Estrategicamente localizadas para defesa e vigilância das terras agrícolas, as aldeias fortificadas (ksour) e as kasbahs demonstram a organização social e a resiliência dos Amazigh. A sua cultura e a língua Tamazight, agora oficial em Marrocos, bem como a sua bandeira, simbolizam a sua identidade. A preservação destas aldeias e dos seus modos de vida ancestrais, baseados na agricultura e na pastorícia, é crucial para testemunhar a herança Amazigh e as suas estratégias de sobrevivência em ambientes desafiantes.
The Amazigh villages of Morocco, nestled in mountainous landscapes such as the Atlas Mountains and pre-Saharan oases, represent a remarkable example of vernacular architecture and adaptation to the environment. Built with local materials such as adobe, stone, and wood, these villages blend into the natural environment, reflecting the rich culture and history of this indigenous people, whose name means "free people." Strategically located for the defense and surveillance of agricultural lands, the fortified villages (ksour) and kasbahs demonstrate the social organization and resilience of the Amazigh. Their culture and the Tamazight language, now official in Morocco, as well as their flag, symbolize their identity. The preservation of these villages and their ancestral ways of life, based on agriculture and pastoralism, is crucial to witness the Amazigh heritage and their survival strategies in challenging environments.
Ao longo do trilho PR14 – A Aldeia Mágica, que decorre entre Covelo de Paivó e Drave, concelho de Arouca, revela-se um vale agrícola encaixado na Serra da Freita. A paisagem, marcada por modelação fluvial em terrenos xistentos, exibe socalcos que evidenciam a adaptação da atividade agrícola ao declive acentuado, permitindo o cultivo em patamares junto a cursos de água como o rio de Paivô, visível ao fundo. O contraste é notório entre o verde intenso dos socalcos, que minimizam a erosão, e as encostas com vestígios de incêndios florestais, problema recorrente na região. A vegetação autóctone em recuperação demonstra a resiliência do ecossistema. A paisagem integra ainda o património edificado típico das aldeias serranas, testemunho de um povoamento rural que moldou a região.
Along the PR14 - A Aldeia Mágica trail, which runs between Covelo de Paivó and Drave, in the municipality of Arouca, you can see an agricultural valley embedded in the Serra da Freita. The landscape, marked by fluvial modeling in schist soils, displays terraces that show the adaptation of agricultural activity to the steep slope, allowing cultivation on levels next to watercourses such as the Paivô river, visible in the background. The contrast is striking between the intense green of the terraces, which minimize erosion, and the slopes with traces of forest fires, a recurring problem in the region. The recovering native vegetation demonstrates the resilience of the ecosystem. The landscape also includes the typical built heritage of the mountain villages, testimony to a rural settlement that shaped the region.
Kinderdijk in the Alblasserwaard, the area where to Kinderdijk belongs, problems with the water household became more and more apparent from the 13th century. To get rid of the excess water in the polders, long canals were dug. These canals are called "weteringen" and you can find them all over Holland. It was decided to build a series of windmills which would pump the water into a reservoir (boezem) until the level of the river had reached a level that pumping the water into the river was possible again. Legend
According to a legend, Kinderdijk thanks it's name to a special event during the flood. A cradle with a child on the waves was kept in balance by a cat and stranded on the slope of a dike. The spot where this happened was named Kinderdijk...
Yellow flowers: Brassica napus, Koolzaad
The Tap of the Netherlands. The Driel Weir and Lock Complex is located in the Lower Rhine near the village of Driel in the Dutch province of Gelderland. The complex consists of a weir and a lock. Together with two identical complexes (near Hagestein and Amerongen), a large part of the water management in the Netherlands is regulated. Due to the heavy rainfall in Germany, the water level is high and the weir is fully open. The weir is closed about 300 days a year. Ships can pass through the adjacent lock.
All eight Nederwaard-windmills together in one photo. Two polder boards were erected around 1740 to take care of the problems that arose by draining the polder around Kinderdijk: the Overwaard and the Nederwaard.
Already since the 13th century, watermanagement had been essential in this part of The Low Countries. Floris V, Count of Holland, erected the Dike Board of the Alblasserwaard. Its function was to inspect the dikes and water in the Alblasserwaard.
The Alblasserwaard originally was drained to the great rivers (including the Lek) by two small rivers, the Giessen and the Alblas. As the polder settled (sometimes 1 meter per century), the small rivers did not drain into the large rivers, but the other way around as the small rivers settled below the water level of the large rivers. So dams were built and a ring of water around the polder was made by Floris V, because his Dike Board noticed the problems. Two small locks were made in the Merwede river to be able the go onto the Giessen and Alblas and two mills drained the polder again on the large rivers. Problem solved, you would think.
Only, 500 years later, the polder was settled so much, that even the two mills and two locks weren't enough. The highest part of the polder was found near Kinderdijk, the draining of the polder would take place there. To cope with this problem, two polder boards were erected, to take care of the problem for a long time. One would do the Overwaartse side of the polder (to the east of Kinderdijk) and one would do the Nederwaartse side of the polder (southwest of Kinderijk). Bosoms were made and many mills took care of the job together. New canals had to be dug, where the Giessen and Alblas drained their water onto and where the mills drained onto. One of these canals is visible on the photo, the other one is on the other side of the hiking and bicycling track. The mill corridor (an invention by Simon Stevin) took care of the drainage of the polders of the Alblasserwaard step by step.
Now the settlement of the polders has still not stopped, but the polders aren't mined anymore for the peat in the ground, and a better water management regulates the settlement of the polder.. Also a diesel pumping station, J.U. Smit was built at the end of this canal to be able to drain the polder onto the Lek.
Still a remarkable fact that, when looking for instance at this map: the Lek and Noord rivers are around 1,5-2 meters higher that the land behind the dikes. Kinderdijk is really in a sinkhole directly between two large rivers. Zooming out, you see that there are many rivers surrounding the Alblasserwaard: the Beneden Merwede is on the south side.
Headoffice The Rijnland water board
Architect: Jan Brouwer Associates Nu: XX Architecten
Much of the Netherlands is below the current sea level. Roughly one third of the country. This part is mainly located along the coast of the North Sea. This coast is protected by dunes and dikes. The lowest point in the Netherlands, the Zuidplaspolder in South Holland, is no less than 6.76 m below the current sea level.
To ensure that the areas behind the dunes and dikes and below sea level remain dry, a system of good water management is needed. Water boards have been set up for this purpose.
The Rijnland water board is one of twenty-one water boards in the Netherlands. This water board is one of the oldest water boards. The first written record of the existence of hemraads (supervisors) can be found in a charter of 11 October 1255 by the Dutch count Willem II. This is the oldest item in the Rhineland archives.
The head office is located in Leiden at the edge off The Bio Science Park. The area in which Rijnland works extends from Wassenaar to Amsterdam and from IJmuiden to Gouda. This area, which covers more than 1,100 square kilometers, is bordered on the west by the North Sea. In this area, the water board ensures dry feet and clean water for approximately 1.3 million people and is an important administrative body in this area. Since January 2000, the head office in Leiden has been located in a modern office building on the edge of the Bio Science Park in Leiden. It is a major building in a striking place.
Before that, the Rijnland water board was housed in the monumental Gemeenlandshuis on Leidse Breestraat, a building that had already been purchased by the Rhineland authorities in 1578.
The organization was used to operating from different locations. Everyone came under the same roof for the first time in this new office. The assignment explicitly stated that the building had to be made of masonry. A requirement that has been subtly transformed into an elaboration with ceramic façade cladding, a system that was co-developed by Renzo Piano.
The building reflects the concern of the water board for the living environment and the environment: it is built according to the principles of sustainable construction. The building contains numerous innovations that regulate light and temperature naturally and energy-efficiently. It is constantly being examined whether newer applications for sustainability and energy efficiency can also be used. The building is therefore anything but static.
This also applies to the appearance of the building. From different sides it appears because of the different building elements and each time it forms a different building. The ceramic façade panels and white wooden window frames create a sense of unity and repetition in this game.