Recent severe flooding in Ireland an the UK made it scarily visible that the effects of climate change are extremely tangible at our latitudes. With a sea front, rivers and canals cutting through the city, Dublin too is vulnerable to a rise in sea level, floods and heavy rainfall. How can we prepare and design the city with these extreme weather conditions in mind?
Last year the Department Of The Environment, The Office Of Public Works and several city departments, including Dublin City Council, commissioned REDscape, a group of Dutch designers to find solutions for Irish river fronts.
The Netherlands, with 26% of its area below sea level including its major cities Amsterdam and Rotterdam, has historically been an innovator in the field of water engineering. For quite some years now municipalities have been heavily subsidising the retrofit of existing buildings with green roofs to improve temporary water retention. Rotterdam has promoted the construction of underground tanks to collect and hold rainwater and also trialled its first overground attenuation tank in 2013. Located in central Rotterdam this so-called water-square consists of three flat pools that combine water storage with improved quality of urban public space. The square was designed by De Urbanisten in a participatory process with the adjoining school. It holds a playing area for football, basketball or volleyball, a dance stage, a skate bowl and integrated seating. For the few days of the year in which the pools do fill up with storm water and excess from neighbouring buildings, three differently shaped lakes visually enhance the area.
WID WATER SQUARE _ AFTER
The demonstration of the water-square in this image was kindly provided by De Urbanisten, Rotterdam (NL). Check out their truly inspiring projects on rain-proofing cities on www.urbanisten.nl
Dublin has many unused sites that could relatively inexpensively provide for storm water attenuation tanks and add recreational value to neighbourhoods. With their hard surfaces water squares are also both resistant to anti-social behaviour and require low maintenance.
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Words: What If Dublin Team
