Winner of the Outstanding Award in the 2025 WLA Awards – Concept – Masterplan & Urban Design
Dordrecht is embracing urban growth by strengthening and building on the city’s existing qualities. The Dordtwijkzone currently home to numerous sports fields, facilities, and green, park-like spaces offers a strong foundation for transformation into a new central city park. This future city park will not only serve local residents but also connect the city to the surrounding landscape.
Dordrecht City Park will be a vibrant space where people, animals, and plants can thrive. It will offer opportunities for walking, sports, relaxation, and nature experiences. At its heart lies a continuous 10-kilometre park loop: a wide, smooth path designed for running, walking, cycling, and skating creating a clear, active route through the park.
The city park will also play a crucial ecological role. It will increase biodiversity, enhance water retention, and expand habitats for local flora and fauna. A key feature is a 5-kilometre amphibious corridor connecting the Wantij with the Nieuwe Dordtse Biesbosch. This green-blue link strengthens ecological networks, cools the city, absorbs heavy rainfall, and supports clean water circulation.
Sports facilities in the area will be restructured to use space more efficiently. This compact layout creates more public access, frees up room for greenery and water features, and reduces paved surfaces making the park greener, more open, and more inviting.
The city park will be composed of six different polders, each with its own history, landscape, and focus from nature and water to sport and recreation. This approach gives each area a unique identity while maintaining a coherent park structure. Together, they form one large, dynamic city park.
The visual design and identity of the park will reflect the bold, grounded character of Dordrecht and its island setting. Built using locally sourced and grown materials, the design language will be strong, natural, and authentic.
By connecting urban life with nature, the city park will offer a healthy, sustainable environment for people and wildlife blending city, landscape, culture, and ecology into a single, future-proof public space.
Dordrecht City Park
Location: Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Design: Flux landscape architecture
Commissioned by: Municipality of Dordrecht
Image and photography credits: Flux landscape architecture