European Landscape Architecture: Best Practice in Detailing

The Netherlands

Future high water levels will also leave their mark,

even if this is just a dark line along the wall. This, of

course, is inherent to a quayside, part of which is

submerged, and part of which remains dry. For this

reason, no plans for cleaning the wall – and thus

for effacing the traces of high water – have been

included in the quayside management regime.

The grandstand steps create a prominent 70m break

in the line of the quay, which is 450m in length. They

consist of a prefabricated concrete stairway con-

struction 4.15m in height, and are designed partly

as a grandstand, partly as steps. Although they will

usually be empty, they will fill up with people when

there are festivities on the water.

As in the new residential area, it was a deliberate

decision to leave the quay almost completely bare of

furniture. Because usually there are not many users

on the quay, it was decided to keep it as empty as

possible. This idea is extended in the stairs – which

thus become a grandstand – and also in the bollards

(which will provide an obvious place to sit) and in the

three very long benches on the high quay.

The stairway is placed on the white 40 x 40cm

grandstands steps in the form of black 20 x 20cm

treads. In one area it is continuous, but elsewhere

fragmented. The overall composition is evocative of

the keys of a piano.

On the top of the quay wall there are railings whose

design was inspired by those on a ship. Their mate-

rials are also related to ships: cables, stainless steel

and wood.

The balusters are inclined so as to follow the slope

of the wall. They are conical in form, and thus

taper. Containing welded sleeves through which the

cables pass, they are made of grit-blasted stainless

steel, and are thus more resistant to dirt.

Near the hotel, the balusters are higher and have

been topped with a wooden rail, wide enough to

support the elbows of anyone leaning on it to look

over the river. This rail is made of bonded locust

wood and is oiled against weathering.

The steel cables passing through the balusters have

been tensioned with wire-stretchers at the pressure

braces and tension braces, which will also allow for

post-tensioning at a later date.

The promenade on the quay consists of white

semi-hard paving, with elm trees planted just

beyond the theoretical dike profile. The paving is a

two-component type that develops a stable surface

after mixing and rolling.

The high canal quay

The canal quay is much less open than the quay

6.7
The steps with small tread elements
6.8
The canal quay under construction