Pioneer

Spatial and programmatic transformations of the former industrial areas are more essential for the spatial development of Dutch cities than ever. Environmental issues being a key part of virtually every single political agenda call for compactization and reinterpretation of the existing urban fabric instead of its expansion via green-field developments.

At the same time, such city areas are burdened with a plethora of issues. Fragmented ownership patterns challenge the coherence of their transformations, making such endeavours possible only if realized in sequences of relatively small steps. Environmental hazards, such as air and noise pollution, as well as sub-optimal accessibility and absence of social infrastructure add to the complexity of the task.

Our study takes on one of probably more complex situations: a pioneer project in a transforming industrial area. Defining the range of programmatic concepts, building densities and spatial constellations stand in the core of the study. The result is a matrix of development scenarios where every one of them aimed at creating a critical level of internal quality independent from the context, while staying open for the future integration into a larger scale transformation.

Special attention was given to the programmatic mix. A combination of event, office, HORECA and manufacturing uses showed the most potential. Exploiting only the existing capacity of the area, such a program mix immediately creates a specific new destination in the city. At the same time, it stays very flexible towards integration to a variety of possible future development scenarios at a larger scale.