GROUP WORK - NIEUWE SCHIEDAM

New Schiedam is a vision for a food city that challenges the poten al site of an industrial area, with a clear focus on improving connec vity, social inclusion and high density living. The sites ini al strategy was to acknowledge how well the site was connected and how that can be exemplified. This approach led to a bold decision of wan ng to connect the site to the south of the river, crea ng a connec on that would seed a vast amount of opportuni es.

This project entails; a number of different cultural spaces including a Dis llery Quarter that is made up of the sites infamous gin businesses. The Dis lleries being relocated next to each other offers a more invi ng approach to the historical industry by crea ng a public realm that connects just off the La Rambla inspired high street. Whilst on the other side, the Dis llery Quarter embraces the Windmill and canal adjacent to it, celebra ng Jin and Schiedam’s history.

The scheme takes typological inspira on from many of the worlds great ci es but also the vernacular of Schiedam and Ro erdam. By con nuing the historical eleva on from the ‘old’ Schiedam into the new’, the site offers opportunity for more housing and a so er ‘edge’ for the exis ng community.

Nieuwe Schiedam ambi ously takes on world challenges by introducing a Technological Centre for Food Innova on (TCFI). The park sits behind a dyke that is proposed to protect the city from future floods, resul ng in a green belt through the site. TCFI uses this opportunity by imposing itself as a number of civic buildings consis ng of a museum, seed centre, exhibi on/venue space, office/educa on spaces, a conservatory that acts as a test centre and hotel.