Helma Krekels

De Oranje Krekel supports European and regional consortia working on the transition towards a circular and climate-resilient built environment. We act as programme/project lead and facilitator, bringing together public authorities, housing corporations, water boards, SMEs, researchers and citizen groups to co-create and implement solutions addressing urban flooding (pluvial risk), water nuisance, heat stress and liveability. We translate policy and funding ambitions into implementable packages: stakeholder mapping and governance, workshop and living-lab design, roadmap and portfolio building, and implementation support. Our approach integrates sponge-city principles (retention, infiltration, water buffering) with nature-based cooling (trees, green-blue infrastructure, shaded streets) and circular strategies (material reuse, biobased/low-carbon options, circular procurement). Result: measurable impact—less water nuisance, cooler streets, and circular interventions that can scale across neighbourhoods and regions. (We bring the coalition, the plan, and—when needed—the “gentle push” to get it done.)