Designers of natural and hydraulic engineering projects

With more than 50 years of experience in hydraulic engineering and a specialization in landscape architecture, GlasGroen looks beyond a standard hydraulic contractor. "We combine hydraulic engineering and (wooden) site design with landscape architecture," says director Ruud Glas. And that is reflected in the beautiful projects that GlasGroen realizes, such as the footbridge on Stadsstrand Hoorn, special weirs on A16 De Groene Boog and the wooden outdoor space around Jonas, the BNA Best Building of the Year 2023. 

Originally, we are a hardcore hydraulic contractor, putting up shoring, installing sheet piling, dams and bridges, but by no means avoid the fine work, says Ruud. "With our own landscape architects on staff, we are also strong in designing and realizing the hard contours of outdoor space with decking, jetties, terraces and seating elements. That combination is the unique strength of our company. Together with the many decades of practical knowledge among our employees, which is also transferred well, means that we can always go to extremes for the best result." 

Innovation

According to Ruud, GlasGroen is constantly innovating. "We are open to innovation, investing in mechanization and automation in order to approach projects in the most efficient way possible. With a view to the Building Quality Assurance Act (Wkb), we are currently implementing specific software, in which we will, among other things, create digital files of what we realize. This will undoubtedly soon result in a gigantic library of data. This will not only enable us to substantiate and demonstrate the quality of our work, but it will also be a useful 'reference work' for calculating new projects more efficiently. Especially in hydraulic engineering this is of added value because, despite the use of geomorphological maps, you never know exactly what is in the ground. Based on a wealth of information from projects already completed, we can price future work much more specifically and quickly."

Iconic projects

Over the past five decades, GlasGroen has contributed to a wide variety of projects. Recent ones include the large footbridge at Stadsstrand Hoorn, the largest lakeside city beach in the Netherlands. "At this unique spot on the Markermeer, part of the Marker Wadden, we built a 125-meter-long plastic footbridge," says Ruud. "Furthermore, last period we carried out a number of special assignments on the Blankenburg connection, including several fauna passages, the pylon casing for three bridge piers, hardwood weirs and many hundreds of meters of shoring. For the new A16 De Groene Boog motorway, we are installing bridges, fencing and various weirs for water management purposes. At the Jonas project in Amsterdam (the Best Building of the Year 2023, ed.) we took care of the design of the wooden outdoor space. Here we realized a wooden stand cum deck of 650 m2 constructed in various patterns and directions with a height difference of just under 9 meters. Definitely an icon, even if we say so ourselves," Ruud laughs.

In addition to being solid and functional, a design just has to look good, Ruud believes. "That's the added value we provide. We stand for quality in outdoor space and increasingly act as a knowledge and advice center for hydraulic and wooden site design, linked to landscape architecture. By now, many major contractors and architects know how to find us." For the coming year, GlasGroen is committed to further expanding its partner network. "Our goal is to share expertise and craftsmanship with each other, thus further increasing quality and efficiency in design and execution."