Haarlem, the Netherlands

Provincie Noord-Holland, het Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland, de gemeente Haarlem, Antea Group and Heijmans have joined forces on a big infrastructure maintenance project along the Zuid Schalkwijkerweg. As part of this collaborative effort, new cables and pipelines were installed, and the dike was reinforced to meet the latest safety standards and future climate resilience demands. In addition to these technical upgrades, the project consortium sought to enhance the ecological and visual quality of the area. ReefSystems was invited to contribute by greening the existing sheet pile walls (dam walls) along the canal. The aim was to soften the urban streetscape and simultaneously support local biodiversity and ecosystem restoration. To achieve this, 74 specially designed planters were installed within the sheet pile walls to accommodate wetland vegetation. These planters not only help filter the water flowing through the canal, improving water quality, but they also create breeding grounds and shelter for insects and other small organisms. This transformation turns otherwise lifeless civil infrastructure into thriving micro-ecosystems, contributing to a greener, healthier, and more nature-inclusive city.

Through this initiative, ReefSystems and its partners are demonstrating how smart design and ecological innovation can go hand in hand with infrastructure development — improving both safety and sustainability for the long term.