Water street

The summers are becoming warmer and drier. But when it does rain in the Netherlands, it rains long and hard. The streets are flooding and the water has nowhere to go. How can we adapt to the changing climate in the Netherlands? How can we keep our feet dry?

For more info, contact Floor Pino

Case: Municipality Capelle a/d IJssel places first Bufferblocks

It’s early 2020 when the first Bufferblock by Water Street entrepreneurs Dorian Hill and Aroen Mughal is placed on a large scale within a climate adaptive project.

Bufferblocks are modular concrete hollow elements which jointly function as an underground water buffer, from where water can slowly infiltrare in the subsoil. By buffering water and slowly letting it infiltrate, we can counter flooding as well as drought in the subsoil. Never before have these types of blocks been used for this combined function in the ground.

The municipality of Capelle aan den Ijssel was searching for a climate adaptive solution for the neighbourhood Arica. This resulted in a visit to the Water Street where they first met Bufferblocks. The area has a weak soil, which means the weight of the pavement plays a crucial and decisive role. Due to the hollow spaces, the weight of an empty Bufferblock is almost identical to that of the usual Bims, a light heightening material.