Quay on the River IJssel, Doesburg
between the moat and the river has been used
solely by industrial establishments.
The closure of industry along the river now provides
an opportunity to combine the development of a
riverside hotel and over two hundred houses into a
contemporary waterfront that provides spectacular
views over the floodplains across the IJssel – views
that extend to the fringes of the Veluwe region.
Because it is so seldom that a chance arises to build
frontage along a major river, the creation of this
quayside is a unique project.
Design philosophy
The landscape architects at OKRA believe that land-
scape architecture is not an autonomous art, but is
strongly influenced by the project’s context. In their
projects, they aim to discover and strengthen the
site’s authentic identity. This context can consist
of the surrounding topography, the history, the
programme or social aspects. The design concept
should always tell the story of this context.For OKRA, a concept is only valid if it is realistic.
Their aim with every design project is to be fully
involved with the determination of details and
materials. They like to defend the concept through
the more concrete stages in this way. Almost
every design goes through a stage of cost-cutting.
Decisions in this matter have to be taken according
to the concept, and, as designers, OKRA like to be
closely involved in this, although this is usually not
the designer’s task in the Netherlands, where this
stage has been mostly undertaken by engineers
and quantity surveyors, a situation that landscape
architects from other European countries might find
rather odd.When designs become more concrete, OKRA tend
more towards minimalism than to formalism or
functionalism. Therefore their projects tend not
to appear hugely expressive. The expression of a
project should merely help to understand the con-6.2
High water