Geotechnical engineering

Fundamental starting point

Geotechnical engineering is the applied science focused on building in, on and with soil. Together with the disciplines of soil mechanics and foundation engineering, geotechnical engineering forms an integrated part of almost all our infrastructure and hydraulic engineering projects. Due to the variable nature of the subsurface, working out project-specific, smart solutions and also thinking in terms of geotechnical risks and associated risk management are central to our actions.

Witteveen+Bos’ geotechnical and geological specialists support a wide variety of clients at home and abroad with integrated advice on a wide range of projects. These include (semi-)public authorities, property developers, port authorities and contractors.

Examples of the types of projects we work on include building pit and foundation designs, quay walls and other soil retaining structures, land reclamation, flood defences, site preparation, embankment consultancy for infrastructure, geothermal energy and earthquake analyses. Our specialists are deployed in every phase of a project: from initiation (geological quick-scans, preparation and supervision of ground surveys), during preparation (interpretation of ground surveys, geotechnical designs) and during construction (monitoring, site engineering).

Besides our geotechnical input in projects, we are involved in various research programmes and carry out a lot of fundamental research within this field of expertise. Examples include the supervision and interpretation of full-scale load tests (piles, anchors, quay walls, dykes) and desk studies of fundamental soil behaviour (such as strain-dependent strength, parameter correlations). Our specialists contribute this knowledge to several committees for drafting (inter)national standards and guidelines. Moreover, we use the combination of geotechnical knowledge with programming knowledge to develop smart automation tooling, enabling us to perform reproducible work quickly and effectively.