Public Space as Common Space

A comparative research between Rotterdam and Milan

Internship for the course Design in Research, Research in Design of the Q4 Master of Science (MSc) in Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences

Office

Studio for New Realities, Rotterdam, NL

De Kroon: K24

Schiemond 20 3024 EE Rotterdam

Nederland www.newrealities.eu studio@newrealities.eu

In collaboration with: Quinzii Terna Architecture, Milan

Year 2021

SFNR team

Jeroen Zuidgeest

Francesca Rizzetto

Hugo Lopez Silva

QTA team

Chiara Quinzii

Diego Terna

Francesca Robustelli

Fabio Samele

Quinzii Terna Architecture

Studio for New Realities

Cities are perpetually dealing with their shortcomings in socioeconomic and demographic development, mobility, production and social cohesion. These urgencies are (finally) recognised as such at specific moments in time. This comparative research investigates the potential of the city’s public space to become a true “common space”: social places that maximise quality of life and strengthen a sense of belonging.

The document includes an analysis of the current state of public space in Rotterdam and Milan, and presents a collection of thoughts for possible nextstep interventions on various scales and layers. In doing so, it seeks to instigate a mind-shift towards a usage-driven reconsideration of these crucial shared spaces in our cities. The ultimate aim is to trigger the transformation of transit spaces towards usage spaces that accommodate the local community.

The research presented here builds on a study that QTA started in 2019 (as part of the Urban Factor call by Triennale di Milano and Comune di Milano), which investigated the city of Milan deeply, focusing specifically on the elements that compose its public places and reconstructing the essence of Milanese public space. This research is a “Spinoff”, where we observe the cases of Milan and Rotterdam to compare and learn, finding similarities and differences, as part of a general reflections on Public Space of cities around the world. The result is a comparative - not comprehensiveatlas of the common spaces in both cities - highlighting their qualities, their problems and potentials and their characters. It offers reflections on the usage quality of their public space at a unique moment in time.

*all images are courtesy of Studio for New Realities

Rotterdamse canals are not the same as those in Amsterdam. They cannot be navigated beside only one connection called ‘The Blauwe Verbinding’. It is a special water connection between the Zuiderpark in Rotterdam, the Buijtenland van Rhoon and the Zuidpolder in Barendrecht. It is a recreational navigable route that also provides clean water in the area but it also functions as a water storage facility, establishing an ecological connection between the various green areas. The connection runs from the Zuiderpark, the Zuidelijk Randpark, the Buijtenland to the Zuidpolder. The Zuidelijk Randpark has been renovated considerably. This offers opportunities for holidaymakers from Rotterdam South as well as Carnisselande and Portland.

During this research we worked with a multi-layered strategy leading to suggested interventions at the micro, meso and macro levels: relating to the street, the neighbourhood, and the city as a whole. The series of action scale interventions proposed in the following pages can be considered a collection of thoughts, and they are built around four key components: gathering space, mobility space, green space and blue space. For each of these categories a series of interventions is drawn, from extra small to extra large – together, they give new shape and meaning to the public space of the city.

The research was carried out mainly using open data from the Municipalities of Milan and Rotterdam (and their related agencies and departments). The maps were created using GIS, as the main tool used. The extracted information was further developed in image editing softwares. Some of the maps are calculated using ‘Open Route Service’ to obtain usergenerated free geographic data directly from ‘Open Street Map’. It then builds, also with the use of ‘Travel Time API’, isochronous to determine which area objects can be reached in given times or distances.

The conclusions of this research were presented during an international event in Milan, held in the Palazzo dell’Arte, Triennale Milano.

Heathscapes Meating in the middle

The future poses a major problem of feeding 9 billion people by 2050, while the current system of agriculture in itself is unsustainable and demands resources which exceed the planetary boundaries. Further continuing this trend of exploitation and destruction of ecology will only worsen the planetary stresses the Anthropocene has established. Hence emerges the urgent necessity to reorganize and reinvent our current food system towards a sustainable and circular one to sustain life on our planet.

The primary goal of this project is to achieve sustainability in the food sector, thereby achieving circularity and food security. The Netherlands has an extraordinary position in the global market and is globally leading in agricultural research, technology and innovation. Therefore it could prove to be fruitful to develop a regional sustainable agricultural model that could become a role model for sustainable agriculture globally. The vision is to reduce the spatial impact of our food system while discontinuing the destruction of new habitats. To achieve this, a healthy diet must be embraced, which not only proves to significantly improve our health but also facilitate a transition towards a healthier planet.

Research & Design studio

Spatial Strategies for the Global Metropolis

Institution

Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Academic year

2020-2021

Supervisors

Remon Rooij

Nikos Katsikis

Daniele Cannatella

Group work

Collaborators:

Oviya Elango

Boris Bakker

Lilly Petter

Yoran Erami

Location:

Province South Holland

Production typologies

High yield per hectare of food that is important for the diet

Current management threatens biodiversity

By evaluating the spatial, environmental and health impacts of the current model, the negative externalities at each stage of the food sector are investigated. The diversification of the crops to be grown within South Holland is crucial in order to facilitate the transition from a food exporter to a self-sufficient region with respect to the food sector. To encourage more sustainable food production and enhance the relationship between people and their food production, it is invaluable to invest more power in the producers.

Produces popular foods Highly productive in producing valuable products

Makes NL biggest flower exporter in the world

High production rate and has shorter consumption routes

Has a large footprint of land use and carbon & nitrogen emissions per product

Big energy demand and produces green house and nitrogen emissions

Causes soil pollution while not contributing to nutrition

Has a big energy demand and is connected to high initial investments

Our current diet already reaches beyond the planetary boundaries and will continue to do so in the years to come if we are not willing to change our ways of consuming.

At the moment we, as South Holland, need approximately three times the size of our province to maintain our diet. When implementing the Lancet diet, we will only need the space of one South Holland and even less than the vegetar- ian diet, while also staying within the planetary boundaries. Considering the positive effects despite the relatively small change in consumption behaviour, the Lancet diet proves to be a very realistic and feasible solution.

Peeling off the surface Sustainable urban design in the TU Delft campus area

Research & Design studio

Spatial Strategies for the Global Metropolis Institution

Department of Urbanism, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)

Academic year

2020-2021

Supervisors

Victor Muñoz Sanz

Iren Koomen

1st phase-Group work

Collaborators:

Celeste Richard

Miriam van Eck

2nd phase-Individual work

Location:

Delft TU campus South

The area that our group chose to work on is the one called “Back to Back”, due to its two strong defining borders, the Mekelpark and the Schie river. The interesting aspect of it, is the fact that it is not only consisting of educational facilities, but also some student housing complexes and a lot of industrial territories. This variety of functions is spread without a certain planning system, and the most discouraging fact is that the view to the river is almost completely lost when walking from the main campus. Bike routes seem to end up nowhere, industrial buildings are mostly closed and seem to have no character whatsoever and all of the natural elements of a waterfront are left to luck.

The selected area for the detailed public design is the one near De Nieuwe Haven port, an area described in the strategy phase as a mixture of commercial and housing development.

The concept of dividing the Back to back area in stripes is explored further into the detailed public space design. The area is covered in a fluid porous concrete floor which is produced by recycled demolition waste and glass bottles and is further divided into a grid of marble stripes that are 80cm wide. The grid is dictated by the desired movements between the buildings so as to signal zones of staying or moving. The denser the repetition of the grid, the faster rhythm it gives to the passersby. The emerged in-between surfaces are explored in various ways that can be peeled off or twisted so as to reveal new elements, such as vegetations or street furniture.

Key values

Communal green roofs serve as a way of treating the UHI effect while at the same time enhancing the relationships of the residents serving as places of interaction.

Inner courtyard of the retail-housing complex. The floor is slightly sunken in some zones with steps surrounding them, in an attempt to create a feeling of enclosure for passersby. This courtyard also functions as a watersquare, concetrating rainwater and pouring it through stainless steel gutters into the bassins.

The stalls of the market consist of light semi-permanent wooden constructions that can be retrieved after the functioning hours of the market so that the space after the steady metal roof is appropriated by the nearby residents in other ways, e.g. for exercise during the evenings.

The zones in front of the shops offer places to sit and rest after hours of walking around.

The reused containers function as cafes, bars or restaurants for healthy fast food and offer both a seating area viewing the river and a take-away side for students or other residents or employees during their lunch time.