The plan area is located on the edge of the old town centre on both sides of an old harbour basin and borders in the east on a lush 19th century town park. Our plan has transformed this area from a somewhat forgotten far-off corner into a link between the town centre and the park. The water divides the plan into two different urban domains: that of the ‘town waterside’, where the plan picks up the old structure of narrow alleys, views through, bustle and harbour activities; and that of the ‘town gardens’, where the residential environment was grafted onto the presence of the park. On the spot where a new bridge connects the town waterside with town gardens stands the civic building that accommodates a whole range of urban functions and unique dwelling types.
As the area was being built up step by step, a set of rules was formulated to steer the elaboration of the plan. This so-called ‘printed circuit board’ regulated, like a ‘Pompeii in reverse’, coherence between buildings and public space.

A historical analysis and a design study of the Laurenskwartier district. The post-war reconstruction, the densification in the 1970s and the demolition of the railway viaduct have adversely affected the Laurenskwartier. This limited area bears witness to the proliferation of various versions of a never completed modern city. This is where Rotterdam has become a collection of individual buildings. Our design proposal is a plea for urban design that would leave room for contrast effect, stratification and a contemporary large scale. Organising buildings in large, spacious building blocks limits the length of the frontage facing the public street in a classical way. More space, in turn, becomes available for urban interiors, like courtyards, shopping squares, collective gardens, et cetera. The model does not have the appearance of a tautly carved block made into an architectural object, but of a hybrid one able to accommodate architectures and interior spaces of different kinds within its contours. The study was carried out together with Camp and Kamphuis Architecture Historians and was commissioned by the City of Rotterdam and the Reconstruction Committee.

The project covers an area stretching from the northwest town centre to the Belgian border. An irregular relief line, deeply concealed waterworks and relics of old fortifications are transected by the route of the Noorderbrug. This hybrid landscape is the last location in Maastricht that can meet the town’s need for residential and work areas. The development period spans 20 to 25 years.
Our plan aims at the reorganisation of the underlying structure of landscape and infrastructure so as to create a stable framework for the long-term transformation process. The tangle of the traffic bridge, slip roads, waterworks and fortifications will be unravelled by shifting the landing of the Noorderbrug northwards. This will allow incorporating the landscape relics into an uninterrupted park area, the Frontenpark. The traffic structure and the landscape structure constitute a three-dimensional design, gratefully making use of the existing relief.

An urban design for the centre of Hoogvliet, made in conjunction with H.N.S. The plan is an element of the large-scale restructuring of the post-war satellite town Hoogvliet. The plan gives shape to a regeneration scheme aiming at the spatial and functional completion of the never finished commercial centre, and providing it with a new stimulus. The programme comprises 650 houses, 4000m2 retail, 5000m2 public functions, 9000m2 office space, a hotel, cultural facilities and a garden park. The plan draws on the characteristic location of the centre, suspended like a spider in a web of green avenues. The town centre is situated in the midst of infrastructure, like an inward-looking island, the buildings have no direct address on the green avenues and thus enhance the green image of the avenues in Hoogvliet. The design does not attempt to establish contrast between the existing and the new intervention. The new parts of the plan have been carefully interwoven and anchored in the concealed zoning of the area. In this way, the regeneration of the central area has strengthened the internal coherence and the position of the town centre on the map.

Masterplan for the redevelopment of Lelylaan and its surroundings.

 

In the 1960s Lelylaan was the first raised urban motorway in the Netherlands. The direct connection to the Amsterdam ring road, the railway and metro stations as well as the relative proximity of Schiphol Airport and the Zuidas development location currently increase the area's attractiveness for redevelopment and densification. As a result, an opportunity presents itself to transform Lelylaan from an urban motorway into an urban street. By compressing the ring road connection and thanks to a level junction with Jan Tooroopstraat, Lelylaan will regain its spatial continuity from Sloterplas to Surinameplein. This reorganization of traffic structure will generate an urban densification zone between Schipluidenlaan and Johan Jongkindstraat with addresses along the south side of Lelylaan. The Masterplan focuses on shaping the infrastructure and public space and defining the attachment of the future building mass to the ground level. The volume of the buildings is bounded by envelopes indicating the maximum contours and simultaneously guaranteeing subtle cohesion with the zoned composition of the buildings erected according to the original Amsterdam Extension Plan (AUP). The architectural expression has been deliberately disregarded at this stage of the masterplan.

On the north bank of the River IJ, in the immediate vicinity of the striking Shell Tower, Overhoeks is currently under development. We drew up the urban design plan for the site in conjunction with the planning department of the city of Amsterdam. The plan is oriented perpendicularly to the IJ, thus naturally blending into the landscape structure of the north bank. The high density and the unique location induced us to create a campus-like layout, enabling the presence of the IJ to penetrate deep into the site.
The wedge-shaped park is flanked by the two future plan elements: on the one side a residential quarter, on the other a strip with an even higher density, where living and working are combined.
A new city park called the Oeverpark along the IJ completes public space. Commanding a view of the city centre, it will become a place of urban significance. Its urban character will be enhanced even further by the accommodation of the Film Museum at the head end of the park. See also www.overhoeks.nl

The plan for Stadswerven shows the redevelopment of a former shipyard area on the edge of the Dordrecht city centre, on a beautiful spot where the rivers Wantij and Beneden Merwede meet.
All sites and special programmes have been grouped around the Wantij: the heart of the plan.
The Lijnbaan area is the continuation of the city centre. It comprises the centrally located Energiehuis, a former power plant that is being converted into a music centre. The Kop van Staart is a peninsula that accommodates the new city theatre. This high-density area is characterised by a simple pattern of streets, perimeter blocks and harbour basins. A blend of building heights, building types and textures results in a lively silhouette along the river.
The Watertoren area borders on the rivers Wantij and the former Vlij, which is being excavated again. This is where a green setting will be created: the converted former water tower and other utility structures supplemented by low-density buildings in the surroundings of communal or public gardens.

A study into the redevelopment of the University of Amsterdam complex at the Roeterseiland. The plan area lies slightly secluded at the end of the concentric half-circle of canals, next to the Plantage neighbourhood. From a historical point of view, this area has always been the residual zone of the city centre. The complex functions like a machine, with buildings that are interconnected by internal corridors and a raised ground level. The aim of the study is to turn the area into a lively urban campus. The Nieuwe Achtergracht canal will be its central public space. This is where the existing and new buildings will get their addresses, and the ground floor will accommodate cafés and restaurants, retail and other functions. The canal will become a leafy space for pedestrians and cyclists. The structure of the new buildings is simple, consisting of staggered building lines and courtyards that stand in a relationship to the Nieuwe Achtergracht.

From way back, the Schelde shipyard and the town were closely connected. Gradually the shipyard expanded. Now the shipyard has disappeared only a massive void of space with enormous shipbuilding sheds remains in the middle of the town centre. The area is uniquely located within walking distance of the docks, the beach, the boulevard and the River Westerschelde. The result of our analysis is not a blueprint but a strategy, with the time factor playing a major role. Central feature of this strategy is the division of the area into three parts. Each part requires its own approach, its own themes and its own phasing. The area south of the Dok (town & shipyard) is intertwined with the town centre by means of an urban programme and density. The northern part (colourful & residential) will evolve into an ordinary, tranquil residential neighbourhood. The most centrally located area (robust & experimental), with its shipbuilding sheds, will be temporarily programmed to win time to develop into a robust sturdy urban district.

The assignment concerns the restructuring of Krimpen a/d IJssel’s centre. A starting point for our design is the current scale of Krimpen that is located as a relaxed residential town on the periphery of the Rotterdam metropolitan area. However, the existing town centre has little character and its spatial characteristics are determined by car parks and vague public spaces.
The key intervention is to open up the shopping centre, which will transform the current shopping arcade into a ‘regular shopping street’ and connect the new central square with the eastern part of Krimpen. Establishing new linkages and routes will position the town centre like a spider in the web of Krimpen. The routes to the centre will be laid out in the form of tree-lined avenues logically leading to that centre. The relocated Albert Schweitzerlaan and Nachtegaalstraat will be the major entrance points, ‘monumental driveways’, offering an immediate view of the shopping centre.

At the end of 2006 Sphinx Sanitair left the old factory site on the edge of the centre of Maastricht. As a result of the relocation, the complex of historical industrial buildings has lost its function. This offers Maastricht an opportunity to redevelop the walled site and connect it to the city. For the purpose of this redevelopment an ‘image-quality plan’ has been made on the basis of which the former factory buildings will be transformed into a retail and apartment complex. This will provide the entire complex with a public function and will make the characteristic buildings, which were previously only visible behind the factory wall, part of urban life. In addition to these historical buildings, a compact site layout with apartments is being developed within the contours of the factory complex. The intention of this redevelopment is to preserve the site as a recognisable inner-urban enclave The careful design of public space and precisely defined architectural coherence between the new and the old buildings are to ensure this. Consequently, the unique industrial past of this area will remain legible in the future too.

A hole in the city

For years now, a large part of the city has remained undeveloped in Rotterdam South. A railway yard, a water-retaining structure, a temporarily laid out park and heavy urban infrastructure dominate the area’s appearance. Residential neighbourhoods of the Kop van Zuid and Afrikaanderwijk flank this void. The Parkstad/Afrikaanderwijk scheme will transform the void into a new urban district, the development that ties in with the regeneration of the Afrikaanderwijk.

 

Connecting element in Rotterdam South

Parkstad/Afrikaanderwijk is a connecting element that will convert the patchwork of urban fragments into one coherent multifaceted part of the city. A comprehensive system of routes, facilities and parks forms the basis for the design. Within this framework urban blocks will be developed, containing a mix of various housing types. To supplement the housing programme, the scheme includes a city swimming pool, sports facilities, two primary schools and a secondary one. See also www.parkstad010.nl en www.nieuwzuid.nl

see also  www.nieuwhembrug.nl