Central Zeeland 2123

Just like now, Zeeland will remain the indispensable pivot in national water security in the future. The adaptation strategy chosen for Zeeland affects the liveability and safety of the whole country. This vision assumes differentiation in landscape, security and land use. Topography and soil and water conditions were translated into four adaptation strategies. From this, four types of landscapes and communities emerge. Each community organises occupation, food production, energy generation and mobility in its own way, in balance with the natural system.

1. Frontline: an archipelago of “barrier-islands” functions as widened front delta. This first line of defense against the water arises from the high dune tops of Walcheren and sand suppletion. 2. Hard line: “main line of defense” of delta-works connected via elevations in the landscape with the shortest possible lines. Historic city centers (e.g. Middelburg, Veere) remain protected from the water as “water fortifications”. 3. Soft line(s): old estuaries form an inland estuary. New foreshores are suppleted as a foundation for mudflats, salt marshes and slabs and grow with rising water. 4. High Line: In the extreme (south) east, the new high Netherlands begins. With extreme sea level rise, the economic center moves here.

Year: 2023
Type: landscape, research
Location: Central Zeeland
Status: competition entry Eo Wijers