The Floriade in the Netherlands, a green new city under the sea

The city centre, designed by Dutch star architect Rem Koolhaas, is almost car-free; the parking spaces and roads are below the surface. Photos: Maarten Feenstra/Almere City Marketing/dpa

Under the endless sky, the streets seem to stretch into infinity. Clouds pile up into dramatic formations, reflected on the surface of the water.

Here in the Flevopolder, the land is even flatter than elsewhere in the Netherlands, the sky stretches even further, the light is even clearer. At the south-western tip of the artificial island is Almere.

With around 220,000 inhabitants, it's the newest city in the Netherlands and is barely 50 years old. The land on which it stands was reclaimed from Lake IJssel, making Almere a symbol of the fight against the forces of nature.

At the same time, it's a green city – surrounded by nature parks and the Markermeer, the IJmeer and the Gooimeer. From April 14 to Oct 9, Almere will be the setting for the Floriade Expo 2022.

The horticultural exposition takes place every 10 years in a different location, and this year's theme is "Growing Green Cities".

The Floriade is more than a colourful show of flowers and gardens from all over the world. It's a fair of ideas for the future: How can our cities become more liveable, greener and more sustainable in the face of climate change.

The Floriade Expo site is located on Lake Weerwater and will continue to be used as an urban district later and the created infrastructure is to be preserved. Photos: Floriade Park/dpa

Amsterdam skyline

There is hardly a better setting for this than Almere. It's a green city, but also a blue one. Everything here is surrounded by water and you can feel the strong sea breeze blow almost everywhere you go.

It runs through your hair, makes you pedal fast on your "fiets" – bicycle – and blows away the cobwebs.

Almere is criss-crossed by canals and is a paradise for water sports. In the distance you can see the skyline of Amsterdam.

Just a few minutes' walk from the train station is the Weerwater lake in the middle of the city. Students lounge in the sun on wooden pontoon boats, while employees relax on the new city beach during their lunch break.

Right next to it is the "Kunstlinie" theatre, which seems to float on the water. Water and clouds are reflected in the building's glass façade.

A patchwork quilt of gardens: the entire 60ha site was divided into squares.

A subtle reference

"We are five metres below sea level here," says Paul Meekel. He guides visitors through the city, showing them the spectacular but also the unremarkable, such as a jagged line in the façade of a building.

"It indicates the height of the sea level", subtly reminding people that this place where people now live can't be taken for granted.

This is nothing new for the Dutch; about 40% of their country is below sea level. In Almere, for example, there was nothing here but water until 1968.

Once upon a time the Zuiderzee, a shallow bay of the North Sea, was here. For centuries, villages and islands were at the mercy of violent storms and floods, which reached as far as the city walls of Amsterdam.

At the beginning of the 20th century, it was decided to drain the Zuiderzee. One part became what is now the Ijsselmeer, while another was drained and reclaimed.

Half a century ago, this area was under water. The land on which Almere lies was reclaimed from the sea.

Architectural delight

Almere started life on the drawing board and became a playground for top architects. Dutch star architect Rem Koolhaas designed the three-storey city centre.

Parking spaces, streets and separate lanes for buses and bikes are located underneath.From the underground, wide escalators lead up to the shopping mall, the beach and breathtaking residential towers.

At the top, on the green, slightly hilly roofs of the shops, are terraced houses with idyllic little gardens – you almost think you're on the set of the Teletubbies.

Neighbourhoods were built according to the needs of the citizens: Duin (dune), for example, is an artificially built dune landscape with a marina and beach boulevard. In the eco-neighbourhood Oosterwold, people live sustainably and grow their own food.

The entire 60ha site has been divided into squares and planted alphabetically according to the botanical names of the plants. The T is, of course, reserved for the tulip.

The result is a patchwork quilt of gardens, criss-crossed by canals with bridges made of recycled materials.

World of gardens

A good 30 countries have set up pavilions to present their ideas for the green city of the future. The Expo is like a journey through the gardens of the world.

The Netherlands shows how to build sustainably and climate-friendly with organic products. China invites visitors to a growing bamboo garden, while India takes them on a spiritual journey.

In buildings that look like a sugar loaf, Qatar demonstrates how traditional shapes and modern techniques can be used to green the deserts.

Hundreds of exhibitors are presenting modern horticulture techniques and ideas for climate protection at home. Exciting new materials are on display – for example, aeroplane chairs built from bell pepper stalks or leather made from mushrooms.

Can you see everything in just one day? Barely. Fortunately, you don't have to walk it all: An 850m-long cable car takes you from one end of the Floriade expo to the other.

From the gondolas you have a fantastic view of the grounds, which seem to float like large enchanted islands on Almere's Weerwater lake. On the other side, you can see the modern skyline of the city towers, while below, nature blossoms and blooms. – dpa