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Stormwater systems in cities are typically designed to get rid of rain water, but with increasingly violent rainstorms and aging infrastructure systems, low lying cities are more vulnerable to flooding.  This has lead the Dutch office ‘DE URBANISTEN’ to came up with a new solution for this growing worldwide problem.  Created for the City of Rotterdam, Waterpleinen (Watersquare) seeks to catch the rain and create playful public features while preserving the water quality in the canals.

Most of the year the Watersquare will be dry. It is only during heavy rainfall that the square will be filled with water. Streams, brooklets and ponds will emerge, kids can play in and around the water. In winter it is even possible to skate on the ice! The rainwater of the Watersquare can also serve as a grey-water system for the surrounding houses.  Watersquare was designed by Marco Vermeulen and Florian Boer and constructed by Jeroen Bodewits.  The city of Rotterdam is about to realise Europe’s first Watersquare. This pilot project has a capacity of one thousand cubic metres which is the equivalent of five thousand filled bathtubs.