New Delft Water Walk
The Garden of Delft has seven brick planters filled with native trees and plants. Each is built atop a reservoir, providing water for the Garden. These reservoirs store rainwater, and when full, they release excess water into the adjacent canal, the Buitenwatersloot. A combination of old and new bricks and a variety of patterns have been used to pave the space between the planters, and the selected colours match those used by the Delft painter Johannes Vermeer. As such, the Garden pays tribute to the centuries old trade of bricklaying.
On May 17, 2024, the Garden of Delft was opened by Alderman Frank van Vliet. The garden is a meeting place for residents and passers-by and contributes to biodiversity in the city, especially for insects. The garden is integrated with a water storage facility so that the plants do not have to be watered during periods of drought. However, the design was quite complicated because the garden is built on top of the railway tunnel, and had to take into account the location of cables and pipes, air installations as well as the emergency escape routes. It was quite a puzzle to create a garden plan with all those considerations.
The best solution turned out to be to have large planters. These were made of brick and together with the paving, they give the garden a coherent appearance. With all the plants, this garden also contributes to climate adaptation in our city and the beautification of this new part of Delft. More information about the Garden of Delft can be found here.
The water storage under the planters is connected to the rainwater drainage of the ‘House of Delft’, the large blue building adjacent to the garden. There will soon be various exhibits about climate adaptation, water, and related topics in which Delft and its Technical University have a world-wide reputation. If you want to read more about the House of Delft, you can find it here or here.
