Robert-Jan van der Linden

Het Ommeland

Where City and Landscape meet

The spatial pressure on the landscape around cities is big. The expanding city, ambitions for sustainable local production of energy and food, and the growing demand for recreation and nature development increasingly clash with existing large-scale agriculture. This pressure leads to the fragmentation of valuable landscapes and the disappearance of productive grounds. In my plan, I focus on the Ommeland of Rotterdam, Voorne-Putten. 

The landscape plan “The Ommeland; Where city and landscape meet” offers an integrated approach to the urgent issues surrounding agriculture and spatial pressure. By cleverly combining functions and using the natural landscape as a starting point, logical, sustainable solutions emerge that fit the unique qualities of the area. This design method not only results in a future-proof landscape but also creates a spatially more interesting rural experience. 

Specifically, on Voorne-Putten, the productive landscape is at risk of disappearing due to the pressures of urbanization, recreation, and nature development. There is a danger that the landscape will become 'parkified', where the original productive value is displaced by nature, recreation, or urban functions. To counter this, I introduce a green-blue framework based on the soil and water systems. This framework provides the landscape at the island level with a clear and cohesive structure, while simultaneously restoring landscape logic within the 51 polders that make up Voorne-Putten. 

Through this approach, each polder gains its own distinctive identity, shaped by stacking and combining functions, tailored to polder-specific characteristics such as soil conditions, water management, and cultural-historical elements. The result is a unique and diverse landscape, where different functions strengthen each other. 

This approach creates a landscape that not only retains its productive character but is also ready for the future. A landscape where agriculture, nature, and urban functions no longer clash, but instead form a valuable and resilient whole together. 


Graduation date: 13 March 2025
Graduation committee: Marieke Timmermans (mentor), Saline Verhoeven, Merten Nefs
Additional members for the exam: Huub Juurlink, Ziega van den Berk