Arcadis | World Engineering Day

Quality of life

Arcadis is in the business of delivering some of the most transformative, large-scale design, engineering, architecture, and consultancy projects in the world to address the biggest challenges of today, namely climate change, energy security, and the adaptation of cities to make them livable and resilient.

With a network of 36,000 professionals worldwide, known as Arcadians, the company collaborates with clients, communities, and industries to implement sustainable strategies with a united end goal: improving quality of life.

“Our work has helped more than a third of our world’s communities become more resilient, and hundreds of clients to advance their decarbonization and net-zero goals,” says Alan Brookes, CEO of Arcadis.

Flood proof

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York City, with businesses flooded and loss of life. To support the city, Arcadis drew on its expertise of over 100 years ago when it transformed wetlands to farmland in The Netherlands.

Arcadis partnered with city authorities on the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project to implement new floodwalls and floodgates in Lower Manhattan and protect vulnerable communities against future weather events. This initiative has enhanced the quality of life for 110,000 residents and 28,000 public housing residents. In South Brooklyn, Arcadis partnered with NYC Health + Hospitals to redesign Coney Island hospital to higher resilience standards, ensuring continued healthcare access for a community of over 900,000 residents.

“When I think about sustainability, it’s about safeguarding communities and protecting generations to come,” says Roni Deitz, Global Director, Climate Adaptation, at Arcadis.

Resilient cities

Through the projects it works on, Arcadis is helping to build a safer, more resilient future. This not only involves the creation of lasting solutions to environmental and natural vulnerabilities, but also the enhancement of our cities and industries, creating vibrant places and connected urban transit networks.

For example, the company’s design approach on the Sydney Metro project has created a world-class rail network with high levels of safety and convenience: entrances and exits were designed as close to the surface as possible for ease of movement, and operations are fully automated, from the driverless trains to the platform screen doors.

What does a sustainable future look like?

For Arcadis, a sustainable future is one where built and natural assets flourish through collective and future-focused action – partnerships and shared expertise – and by working across the spectrum of Sustainable Development Goals. As such, the company particularly supports SDG 17, which focuses on strengthening implementation means and revitalizing the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.

Like the company’s work with vulnerable neighborhoods of New York City, the goal requires collaboration between multiple stakeholders – government agencies, the private sector, residents, and more. And in Toronto, Canada, with “working from home” significantly reducing the demand for office space, Arcadis partnered to transform multiple stories of an underutilized office building into the cutting-edge Temerty Faculty of Medicine Lab, creating research-capable spaces for life sciences that will be leased to institutional and commercial partners.

“Together, we aren’t just solving today’s problems, we are creating a blueprint for a better future designed to thrive,” says Brookes.