Join the Dies Delta Week from 8 – 12 January
Traditionally attractive places for development, deltas are often among the most densely populated areas. Climate change means that the relationship developed over centuries in cohesion between cities, mobility, ecology, agricultural areas must be redefined. Design plays a crucial role in this challenge. Prior to the Dies with the theme Redesigning Deltas, a Dies Delta week will be organised. There are also many interesting activities this week from the faculty Architecture and the Built Environment. Take part!
“The future of our own living environment, the Dutch Delta, and that of many other delta areas around the world, is at stake. We need to rethink and redesign the way we can live in these densely populated areas that are confronted with the effects of climate change and other challenges.” says dean Dick van Gameren. “How to do this has become a central theme for research and education in our and other faculties of TU Delft. The 2024 Dies celebration of our university will focus on this challenge with the motto: Redesigning Deltas. It is a great opportunity to show our work and to inspire others to join the efforts to shape a sustainable future for the world’s deltas.”
Dies Delta BK activities
Check out the full TU Delft programme of this Dies Delta week with lunch lectures, debates, workshops and student challenges. Find out what is being organised from our faculty here. Join, participate and show off!
Wednesday 10 January - Future of Deltas: challenges for public policy
with Ellen van Bueren a.o.
In this roundtable, several scientists and policymakers will discuss public policy challenges for the future of adaptation. The session is organised by The Hague Campus and the conversation is under the leadership of former special envoy for international water affairs Henk Ovink. More information to follow on the web agenda.
Thursday 11 January - Workshop Delta Design
by Fransje Hooimeijer and Anne Loes Nillesen
During an afternoon program at our faculty, the importance of Research by Design within long-term strategic projects will be explored with a focus on the future of delta areas. The framework ‘Research by Design’ will be put into practice this afternoon. After a few short introductory lectures, participants will get to work themselves in small groups with this framework.
To deal with uncertainties in the future and expected system change, Research of Design is crucial. Yet design is often not yet an obvious part of policy explorations to develop new future perspectives.
For the next reassessment of the Delta Program in 2027, the focus is on Research by Design. The Delta Program has asked the Redesigning Delta collective to make a framework ‘Research by Design’. What would it take to position design more strongly within the debate about the future of delta areas such as the Netherlands, among other things? The framework ‘Research by Design’ should help to integrate the spatial planning of subareas in the Delta Program. But it also enables municipalities or other spatial developers to address the water task more effectively.
The workshop Delta Design is particularly for policy makers and is organised by the Delta Urbanism research group and Urban Design section, both of the Urbanism department. The Redesigning Delta collective consists of a collection of ten design firms and five engineering firms with TU Delft, Deltares, PBL, Erasmus University, Resilient Delta. See more about their methodology and future perspectives here.
Thursday 11 January – Redesigning Delta Pubic Lecture Kate Orff
Recipient of honorary doctor during Dies celebration
The workshop Delta Design will conclude with a public lecture by Kate Orff of New York-based studio Scape. Her work is internationally leading in landscape architecture, urban design and climate adaptation. Orff is known for her complex, creative and collaborative work that promotes broad ecological and social privileges. During the Dies Natalis, she will receive an honorary doctorate from TU Delft.
Thursday 11 January - Workshop Citizen Voices in Biodiversity - a Resilient Delta Kick-starter
by Geerjte Slingerland and Juliana Goncalves
As the climate crisis deepens, the importance of biodiversity is increasingly recognised. Large municipalities such as Rotterdam and The Hague have already implemented monitoring plans and measures to strengthen biodiversity. Citizen Voices in Biodiversity (BIO-CiVo) is a Resilient Delta Kick-starter project developing a digital platform to engage citizens in thinking about biodiversity. In this workshop, the project team and participants will explore and test the current design of the platform. The Citizen Voices in Biodiversity workshop is open to anyone with an interest in biodiversity, participation in relation to deltas.
Student Challenges
There are also special events, workshops and challenges for students this Dies Delta week. For BK students, two are very interesting:
- The Student Hackathon: Crafting Flood Resilience in the Rotterdam Region - 9 January.
Organised by CiTG, but open to participation for BK students.
With rising sea levels, we need to redesign the Maeslant barrier to ensure it holds back more water. Or shouldn't we? Is a storm surge barrier the only way to create safety? Click here for more information and registration - Redesigning Deltas - Student perspectives unveiled - 11 January.
Organised by TPM, but open to BK students for participation.
Each student brings a unique perspective to the table, offering different analyses and solutions to the challenges facing our deltas. During this interactive session, our students present their work to a panel of experts led by Henk Ovink, former special envoy for international water affairs and this year honorary doctor of TU Delft. Click here for more information and registration.
Meer informatie
The Dies Natalis will be on Friday, 12 January, 2024. The topic is of a particular interest to our BK community so please sign up. You can view the full program of the Dies Delta week here. You can also register for all public activities here.