De Nieuwe Mark Breda – a new innovative nature-inclusive river in the city center by Stadsingenieurs Breda with ODC architecture and Studio Mars

Context
The transformation of the Nieuwe Mark perfectly aligns with Breda’s urban ambition to be a ‘city within a park’—a vision now officially recognized as Breda has become the second European city to earn the title of National Park City. Not only green spaces, but also water have played a defining role in shaping the city’s identity from the very beginning. The construction of the Nieuwe Mark offers a unique opportunity to restore water to the city center and bring nature back into its heart. By reconnecting the upstream and downstream sections of the river, new opportunities arise for plants and animals to establish themselves. Quay walls create a distinctive habitat that is largely absent elsewhere along the Mark, allowing certain species to find a more welcoming environment. In time, a resilient system has been developed — one in which nature can find its own way.

Research
The Nieuwe Mark project received support from the European Regional Development Fund under the name GreenQuays. It is a collaboration between eight partners: the Municipality of Breda, TU Delft, Natuurplein de Baronie with Ravon/Floron, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), Van den Berk Nurseries, Brabantse Delta Water Board, and BLASt.
WUR contributed by analysing the preliminary design and proposing specific measures to enhance climate adaptation, such as reducing hard surfaces, increasing vegetation, and improving cooling. One such measure includes installing water misting elements on sections of the quay to provide relief for heat stress. TU Delft conducted 1:1 test setups with different joint mortars to explore optimal greening strategies for quay walls. The tree nursery tested planting conditions of various cultivars of trees within the quays themselves to ensure healthy growth.

innovative nature inclusive quay walls
Conceptually, we approach the quay wall as a canvas — a space that expresses themes of nature and culture. Making new water and deepening the river adds more than one kilometre of quay wall to the city. The orientation of the walls, strategic placement of shade, sensitivity to weather conditions, and smart use of (rain)water are all part of a shared strategy: to create optimal conditions for a resilient green structure to emerge naturally, without technical support.
The walls respond to atmospheric and site-specific conditions. The design is thoughtfully composed with great care of detail for brick patterns and directions, angles of inclination, and laying methods — all enriching the visual character of the wall. The depth and width of joints, the type of mortar, and recessed brick placements are all carefully considered to benefit plant and animal life. These elements have been tested through 1:1 mock-ups and on-site prototypes.

Bridges
As the Mark flows through the innercity, it regularly changes in character, creating a scenographic experience. This dynamic quality is the river’s strength, which the design responds to — the river acts as a guiding thread, while its connection to the urban fabric is carefully adapted to the local context. The bridges accentuate the points where the city and river converge, making them both intrinsically connected to the river and deeply rooted in local character.

The Tolbrug, the first bridge to be completed, Is of great historic significance. It used to be the first river crossing to the medieval city of Breda, hence the name ‘Tol’- referring to the former practice to levy toll to enter the city. Here, the synergy between the abutments and the crossing has historically been a key theme. The design of the bridge itself is slender and coherent, richly detailed, and emphasizes movement. In contrast, the abutments are robust and serve as distinctive elements of public space, offering places to linger and enjoy the surroundings.

Planting and Management
For the planting along the Nieuwe Mark, we consider plant-associations that naturally occur in the Markdal. For this part of the objective the inspiration comes from the main plant associations like grassland, tall-herb fringe and scrub combined with the of urban plant community. Using a layered approach, we integrate trees and shrubs with perennials into a resilient plant community. This approach also creates a varied and appealing landscape for people.

Since it’s all part of the public realm of the city the ambitions set for this project require sufficient expertise and flexibility from the maintenance department. To support both the planned and spontaneous development. To ensure effective implementation, detailed work instructions and a visual guideline have been developed, explaining the planting plan and its various growth stages. This results in a new way on how to maintain this part of the city in day-to-day practice and enhances monitoring the nature development over time.’

This project meets the ambition to bring nature into the city with urban restoration of the river de Mark. With European funding, the project has developed and tested an innovative, nature-inclusive quay wall design, setting a new standard for urban ecological development.

• All landscape architecture offices involved in the design of landscape:
Stadsingenieurs Breda and Studio Mars

• All architecture offices involved in the design:
ODC architecture

• Other credits you need or wish to write:
Lichtvormgevers (light vision and design), Andrew van Egmond (planting scheme and visualisations), Ingenieursbureau Rotterdam (technical detailing), TU Delft (research on brick and mortar), Ravon and Natuurplein (nature development and monitoring), Wageningen University (climate responsiveness), and Van den Berk Nurseries (research and monitoring of quay trees).

• Project typology: urban restoration of the river de Mark with realizing innovative nature-inclusive quay technology walls.  And by focusing strongly on greening the public space in the citycenter. Building new brigdes, squares, a new city park and public space nature inclusive.