‘ In my time as State Secretary, I witnessed the birth of Deltares. This top institute is already five years old, and it has developed into a global player with activities in more than 80 countries,‘ Minister Schultz van Haegen of Infrastructure and the Environment was talking at the opening today of the new Deltares building in Delft.
She described Deltares, the Dutch research institute for water, the subsurface and infrastructure, as ‘our delta brain developing knowledge for major social issues which is involved in making safe and sustainable life in the Netherlands possible.’
The formation of Deltares in 2008 grouped all the knowledge in the Netherlands relating to delta issues in a single research institute. The aim of merging the different disciplines was to allow the Netherlands to develop better solutions for new challenges such as sea-level rise, extreme precipitation and falling land levels.
To further encourage collaboration and knowledge exchanges, Deltares decided to merge the various sites at which it was housed in Delft and Utrecht. With the opening of the new Tetra building, all the activities in Delft are now housed in a single location. As well as the offices, a range of test facilities are also located on the campus in Delft. The two offices in Utrecht were also merged recently.
Maarten Smits, the Deltares general director , explained that the new Tetra building symbolises the transparent way Deltares wants to operate and encourages knowledge exchanges within the organisation. ‘Working together ensures that new knowledge and ideas are being generated continuously. And that is vital if we are to find solutions to the complex issues facing all deltas worldwide.’
The new Deltares building was designed by Jeanne Dekkers Architectuur from Delft. There are three storeys, with windows starting at ground level, and three wings on each floor radiating from the central staircase, with a dynamic combination of quiet areas, open-plan offices and meeting areas.
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Press Release, September 19, 2013