Location: Nijmegen/Lent, Holland
Client: Nijmegen Municipality & Private Developer
Scale: 200 hectares
Cost: €365 million
Constraints: Not enough room to accommodate a significant flood event.
Scope of works: Managed retreat of existing town, new river channel, masterplan and flood mitigation strategy phasing.
Located at the meeting point of Nijmegen and Lent in the Netherlands, this 200-hectare development is part of the national ‘Room for the River’ programme, which combines flood protection with sustainable urban growth. Led by BACA architects for the Nijmegen Municipality and a private developer, the €365 million project began in 2013 with the relocation of a dyke and the creation of a one-kilometre flood relief channel to safeguard the city while opening new areas for living, recreation, and nature.
Three new bridges now link communities across the River Waal, strengthening both physical and social connections. At its centre, the new Island Retreat forms a self-sufficient destination with flood-resilient homes, sustainable infrastructure, and parkland. A 70-metre tower and terraces of 100 waterfront residences and holiday homes blend architecture with landscape, showing how cities can live in balance with their waterways through engineering, ecology, and design.
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The design is guided by four core principles: riverside leisure, architectural innovation, ecological enrichment, and zero-carbon living. The team envisioned an activity-rich environment, offering residents and visitors a direct connection with the river, a place to live, work, and play beside the water.
Informed by the site’s hydrological character, the plan showcases international design excellence, integrating renewable energy generation, natural resource management, and cradle-to-cradle material strategies. The result is a model for sustainable, climate-adaptive development, one that transforms a floodplain into a vibrant and resilient community.
The Island Retreat is structured as a sequence of outdoor rooms, each revealing a unique aspect of the river’s spirit. To the north, low-lying terrain has been excavated to accommodate seasonal flooding, forming a protected lagoon and a series of “water rooms” shaped by dunes, embankments, and riparian habitats. The architecture and landscape together create a living system, one that absorbs, adapts, and celebrates change. In doing so, Nijmegen becomes both a prototype for flood-resilient urbanism and a poetic expression of coexistence between people and nature.
Bridge by H+N+S Landscapes
