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Pieter Abraham van de Velde
Born	(1913-11-22)22 November 1913 Utrecht, Netherlands
Died	10 May 2001(2001-05-10) (aged 87) Alblasserdam, Netherlands
Known for	Walcheren dike closures Restoration works after the 1953 North Sea flood Contributions to the Delta Works
Scientific career
Fields	Civil engineering Hydraulic engineering
Institutions	Rijkswaterstaat Delft University of Technology

Pieter Abraham van de Velde (22 November 1913 – 10 May 2001) was a Dutch civil engineer and professor of road and hydraulic engineering. He contributed to several major water engineering projects in the Netherlands, notably the post-war drainage of Walcheren at the end of the Second World War, dike restorations following the 1953 North Sea flood, and the Deltaplan.

Early life and education

Van de Velde was born on 22 November 1913 in Utrecht. He attended the Hogere Burgerschool and graduated as a civil engineer in 1937 from the Technische Hogeschool Delft. After completing his military service he worked for two years at the Waterloopkundig Laboratorium in Delft, followed by positions at Rijkswaterstaat until 1967.

Career at Rijkswaterstaat

Van de Velde served in various roles at Rijkswaterstaat, including the last six years (1961–1966) as Chief Engineering Director of the Deltadienst Noord and the Directie Afsluitwerken (in which the Deltadienst was incorporated in 1964). During this period, he worked on major projects such as the design and construction of closure dams in Walcheren, the Zuiderzee, and the Delta Works.

Walcheren reclamation (1944–1945)

During the drainage of Walcheren at the end of World War II, van de Velde was part of the engineer team of the Dienst Droogmaking Walcheren, which was led by Pieter Philippus Jansen. Their task involved sealing breaches in the dikes created by Allied bombing. The event was later chronicled in the novel Het verjaagde water by A. den Doolaard, in which van de Velde is portrayed as the character “Schoonebloem".

Repairs following the 1953 North Sea flood

In the aftermath of the North Sea flood of 1953, van de Velde oversaw work to close large dike breaches near the Schelphoek and Ouwerkerk. These closures often relied on massive Phoenix caissons to plug the breaches.

Delta Works: Haringvliet, Grevelingendam, Oosterscheldedam

Van de Velde contributed to the design of the Haringvlietdam (1958–1970), the use of a cableway for building the Grevelingendam, and later advised on plans for the partially open Oosterscheldekering. He was notable for advocating both scientific innovation and practical solutions on the Delta Works.

Professor at Delft (1966–1980)

From 1966 until his retirement in 1980, Van de Velde was appointed as a professor of civil engineering at the Technische Hogeschool Delft, succeeding Pieter Philippus Jansen. He taught courses, supervised doctoral research, and continued to advise on coastal defences, reclamation projects, and major hydraulic engineering projects in the Netherlands and abroad.

He also served in technical advisory committees, including the Technische Adviescommissie voor de Waterkeringen (TAW) (English: Technical Advisory Committee on Flood Defences), chairing the group on dike coverings that produced guidelines for using asphalt in hydraulic engineering works.

Honours

• Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau

Selected publications

• Van de Velde, P.A. (1967). Fortse en soeticheijt in de waterbouwkunde [Fortitude and Softness in Hydraulic Engineering] (in Dutch). (Inaugural lecture as professor; title references a quote by Andries Vierlingh).

• Van de Velde, P.A. (1980). Veiligheid en Monte Carlo [Safety and Monte Carlo] (in Dutch). (Valedictory lecture at Delft).

• Van de Velde, P.A.; Gerritse, F. (1955). Afsluiting stroomgat Schelphoek [Closure of the Schelphoek Inlet] (in Dutch). Rijkswaterstaat.

• Van de Velde, P.A. (1972). Kunststoffen en oeverbescherming [Plastics and Embankment Protection] (in Dutch). et al. KIvI & K&O Symposium.

References

1. Hager, W.H. (2009) P.A. van de Velde, in: Hydraulicians in Europe 1800-2000: Volume 2, Francis & Taylor Group
2. Tuin, J.D. van der (2021) P.A. van de Velde, in: Flevolands geheugen
3. ^ 13 x Delta. Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat. 1981.
4. Ferguson, H.A. (1988). Delta-visie: Een terugblik op 40 jaar natte waterbouw in Zuidwest-Nederland [Delta-Vision: A Retrospective on 40 Years of Maritime Engineering in the Southwestern Netherlands] (in Dutch). Rijkswaterstaat. pp. 62–64. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
5. "Delft University of Technology interview with Prof. ir. K. D'Angremond (in Dutch)". 6 December 2001. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
6. Bleyi, R.H.J. (1998). Het verjaagde water, de getijbeweging op Walcheren en de caissonsluitingen in 1945/1946 (Het verjaagde water, the tidal movement on Walcheren and the caisson closures in 1945/1946) (Masters Thesis). Delft University of Technology.
7. Mia van den Berg (1999). "Phoenix-caissons (Watersnoodmuseum) Ouwerkerk". TracesOfWar.nl.
8. "Caissons van Ouwerkerk". Zeeuwseankers.nl. 25 June 2022.
9. Boon, J.; Van Riel, A.C. (1961). "Modelonderzoek van de nabla-ligger". HERON (in Dutch). 9 (2). ISSN 0046-7316.
10. "Grevelingendam". Rijkswaterstaat (in Dutch).
11. PZC, 9 August 1974
12. "TU Delft repository – Mentored theses by P.A. van de Velde" (in Dutch).
13. van de Velde, P.A. (1984). Leidraad voor de toepassing van asfalt in de waterbouw [Guideline for the Use of Asphalt in Hydraulic Engineering] (in Dutch). 's-Gravenhage: Rijkswaterstaat.
14. The Use of Asphalt in Hydraulic Engineering (Communication nr. 37 ed.). Rijkswaterstaat. 1985.

Further reading

• Various (1981). 13 x Delta [13 x Delta] (in Dutch). Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat. 1981.
• Ferguson, H.A. (1988). Een terugblik op 40 jaar natte waterbouw in Zuidwest-Nederland [A Retrospective on 40 Years of Maritime Engineering in the Southwestern Netherlands] (in Dutch). Rijkswaterstaat.

• Delta Works
• Dutch civil engineers
• Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology
• 1913 births
• 2001 deaths