RainRoad A sustainable water management solution that doubles as an inspiring artwork at the Palais de Hollande in Istanbul - Netherlands and you
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RainRoad
A sustainable water management solution that doubles as an
inspiring artwork at the Palais de Hollande in Istanbul
Introduction
It all started with one question: How can we reuse rainwater most sustainably and efficient-
ly?
In a city with an immense building rate such as Istanbul, the capacity of the soil to absorb
rainwater has been consistently diminished for the past few decades. Coupled with the
changes in the climate that brings heavy rainfall, flooding has become an issue that afflicts
many neighbourhoods.
In January 2019, 26 people from Turkey and the Netherlands came together in a co-design
session to generate ideas for a system to
reuse rainwater in the most sustainable
and efficient way. In the Water Storage
co-design session, held in collabora-
tion with CrossChange Collaboration
Lab, four groups consisting of architects,
designers, students, and policymakers
brought forward suggestions for reduc-
ing water use, and improve water stor-
age, and distribution.
In the co-design session was discussed
how to use the existing system efficient-
ly. Because with the RainRoad, we are
building on old water storage principles.
1. Cistern
Beyoğlu has been dealing with the question of water storage and water distribution for
centuries. From the nearby Taksim Square water that was stored and collected in the aq-
ueducts north of the city was distributed to the rest of Beyoğlu. The word Taksim literally
means distribution in Turkish. Istiklal Caddesi as the highest point of Beyoğlu, was crucial for
the water distribution and storage in the area. Part of this distribution and storage system
was a network of cisterns, underground reservoirs for rainwater.
The two cisterns underneath the palace are built 100 to 150 years ago. With a total water
storage capacity of 230 tons, the water in one of the cisterns is used for watering the gar-
den, the other is filled with water that can be used if a fire breaks out.
Next to the cistern the RainRoad exist of six different elements. It takes cues from the co-de-
sign session and revolves around an art project that prioritizes recycling and upcycling.
2. RainRoad
The Palais de Hollande in Beyoglu
is becoming increasingly exposed to
the whims of the elements, swinging
between floods and water shortage.
The RainRoad allows us to collect the
water during when it rains, and use it
in periods of dought.
The RainRoad is located on a slope
and the garden is below. The Rain-
Road starts from the square in front
of the Palais de Hollande. When is
it raining, water runs down from the
RainRoad, along the red building to
a water bassin at the entrance of the
garden.
3. Solar powered
water pump
Increased urbanization also means high-
er levels of heat stress in the city. Water
can help to cool these areas. For this rea-
son, a solar powered water pump system
is also part of the RainRoad.
This system uses only the sun as a source
of energy and therefore has a carbon
footprint of zero. During sunny days, it
pumps up water from the bassin and lets
it flow down the RainRoad. The flow of
water helps to cool the office building.
This unique system is a good example of
climate adaptation. The solar system is
tailor made for the Consulate building,
and it the first of its kind in Turkey. Yıldıray
Cezooğlu made sure that this was done
in a sustainable way.
4. Water bassins
The water that comes
from the Dutch chapel
is collected in a second
bassin in the back of the
garden.
The water bassins are de-
signed for the RainRoad
project by landscape ar-
chitect Arzu Nuhoğlu of
Işık Peyzaj Tasarım in co-
operation with Işık Pey-
zaj.
5. Green roof
We realized a green roof above the bassin at the entrance
of the garden. Istanbul and other cities have grown tre-
mendously in recent decades. As more and more vege-
tation is being replaced by asphalt and concrete, cities
have less absorption capacity for rainwater.
The green roof showcases the opportunities for keeping
the city livable. Unused flat roofs have a big potential in
terms of cooling capacity for buildings in summer and
isolating them in the winter. At the same time the roofs
are perfect locations for storing rainwater. The green
roofs also have a positive effect on the biodiversity and
are important for a healthy and resilient city.
The green roof is made from sedum, a plant species that
stores water in its leaves and is easy to maintain.
6. Water square For centuries, Dutch creativity in terms of water management has inspired and informed others. We want to practice what we preach and make use of the Dutch way of collaborative prob- lem-solving that we are promoting in our Livable Cities program. The Dutch expertise in water management was born out of the necessity to imagine, design, and construct workable solu- tions on a grand scale, necessary for living in a vulnerable delta region. Now with the onset of the effects of major climate change, this know-how on climate adaptation and water manage- ment has become valuable in different settings around the world. The water square is inspired by the Water Squares that are an innovative way to prevent urban flooding. This concept is developed by De Urbanisten and realised in Rotterdam and other cities. When our bassins are full, the overflow will go to the watersquare in the middle of the garden and the excess rainwater will be stored in the square. When it’s not raining, the space is used as a liveable public space.
7. Mosaic For the design of the RainRoad working with existing materials was important. We collab- orated with Koenraad Marinus van Lier, a Dutch artist living and working in Istanbul. Van Lier has been collecting the tiles that, together with other construction materials, are being dumped in the sea and end up on the Madam Martha beach of the island Burgazada off the Asian coast of Istanbul. He used these collected tiles for the RainRoad design. These tiles are upcycled in the mosaic design to connect the different elements of the RainRoad. A team of the Consulate joined Van Lier on 19 September 2020, World Cleanup Day, to collect tiles at the island. For this sustainability project over 500 kilos of broken tiles are used. The complete mosaic is 30 m2 big. Van Lier collaborated with another fellow Dutch artist, ceramist Thessy Ries. She held a workshop for the Consulate team to create their own tiles as their personal contribution to the story told along the RainRoad. She also designed the Poseidon head, on the spot where the water enters the water square.
More information
Istanbul, June 2021
We want to thank our partners: Arzu Nuhoğlu and Işık Peyzaj Tasarım, Pelin Çelebican and
Işık Peyzaj, Koenraad Marinus van Lier, Florian Boer and De Urbanisten, Thessy Ries, Tuğçe
Akbulut and CrossChange, Zeynep Kan, Movares, Filiz Gülşen and Fiz Seramik Atölyesi.
Scan the QR code below to watch the videos that Kalt Film made about the RainRoad.You can also read
