Platform on concrete and steel in construction
In the Netherlands, we have a cabinet. A government that is committed to renewal and acceleration. We face major challenges: climate adaptation, grid congestion, investments in energy infrastructure and an enormous housing challenge. We want to keep building and growing while keeping our feet dry, having sufficient electricity and continuing to buy it - now and in the future.
For a small country of over 18 million people, these are hefty ambitions. Villages and cities must expand, infrastructure must be upgraded and systems must be future-proofed. As builders, we recognize these challenges. Indeed: we want to build. The plans are big and inspiring. But are we doing the right thing together?
Perhaps we should first ask ourselves another question: are we building solutions for today or working to build a resilient society for tomorrow? Is adding unlimited housing and technically solving grid congestion enough? Or does this time call for a broader cultural shift in how we design, build and weigh risks? Resilience begins not with technology, but with people. With how we handle knowledge, skill and responsibility. In construction, we increasingly close off extreme risks based on control and certainty. This is understandable, but it can also have a paralyzing effect. Building resiliently does not mean that we abandon standards - on the contrary. A safe Netherlands requires good standards, robust rules and proven systems in concrete, steel and other building materials. But it also requires consciously daring to take balanced risks. To stand for something as a professional and to take responsibility for the choices we make.
In that context, I introduce the concept of DILT: the Deep Integral Pipeline Tunnel. This is not a new idea, but it is a concept that has so far received too few hands and feet. Knowledge of tunnel drilling and underground techniques is developing rapidly. Drill shields are getting larger, diameters are increasing and precision is improving. This creates the possibility of building deep, elongated tunnels under cities and rural areas, under pile tip levels and existing properties.
DILT consists of wells and lines: vertical shafts and horizontal tunnels that together form an underground network. Just as we now have above-ground backbone structures - for example, from the port of Rotterdam toward Antwerp and the Ruhr - we can bring such vital systems deeper underground. For energy, heat and cold, water, wastewater, logistics and even flows of goods. That requires substantial investment, but in the long run, continuing to stack and improvise above ground also costs money, space and social acceptance. The question is not whether this is expensive, but whether we are willing to invest in long-term solutions. Think of public-private partnerships with long-term construction consortia, in which profit is present but not leading. Where value creation, continuity and social return are central. Oy, maybe that comes close to a resilient society.
What does this deliver? Underground accessibility in times of scarcity. Acceleration of the energy transition. Robust infrastructure that continues to serve cities and regions even in difficult times. But let's face it: no system will make us resilient by itself. True resilience starts with yourself. With how you think about risks, cooperation and professionalism in your organization. By engaging in conversation, by being open to colleagues, by serving society. Not by always striving for the highest or the most, but by doing the best you can where you are.
Jaap Peters - Project Manager Ingenieursbureau Gemeente Rotterdam
