MVRDV has revealed visuals of The Hague with its 17th-century canals reopened and refilled to demonstrate how their restoration could help revive the city's centre.
Developed in collaboration with local neighbourhood organisations, MVRDV's vision imagines the Dutch city's historic canals, which once ran through its centre, restored as waterways for swimming, canoeing, pleasure boats, and a koi carp habitat.
The aim of the project is to show how the waterway's revival could regenerate parts of the city and in turn boost its economy, biodiversity and traffic and water management.

As a city founded as a government centre ?  and housing one of the world's most important courts ? The Hague has had little dependence on its canal system in comparison to other Dutch cities, which historically relied on them for trade.
Consequently, much of its water network was filled between 1910 and 1970 to create space for tram lines and buildings ? despite a local grassroots movement to preserve it.
Recent years have seen a revival in this movement as part of the community's Spinoza Power 2.0 project.

"Based on a study of the historical canals by local firm BAU architects, MVRDV envisions the restoration of the main canals, and has drawn up plans for the minor canals which are either dead-ends or lost due to underground works or buildings," explained the studio.
"Each of these canal stubs needs to function as an urban activator."
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