Portfolio
Leo Luken Application Urban Design TU Berlin 2022
Van Hasselt Continued Urban design studio minor 2020 Academy of Architecture Amsterdam Teacher: Djacco van den Bosch
The historical struggle the area had with the water between the neighbourhoods and the city, is the concept for a new identity for De Ceuvel in Amsterdam. This led to a design for a neighbourhood defined by its car-free, highquality public and collective spaces, which offer
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Urban transformation De Ceuvel Amsterdam, NL
a variation of intimacy, liveliness and quiet. The design is characterized by the comfortable, human scale of the spaces together with a wellthought-through relationship with the plinths of the buildings. These places offer public amenities in which to relax or meet people.
Project area
In 1908, the IJcommissie designed a channel inspired by the ambitions of Johan van Hasselt to bring economic prosperity to the empty lands of Amsterdam North. Due to financial problems construction was aborted, but the remains of the uncompleted channel have had a major influence on the development of the area to the present day.
As a result of industrial business leaving the area, the space to create living and working environments around the water of a completed van Hasselt connection has become available.
The van Hasselt Channel will be a new, slow traffic and public transport oriented, backbone of the area. The multiple options this form of mobility have, result in ‘no-need-for-cars-neighbourhoods’.
The urban plan is as an example project for other site developments down the channel.
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subURBAN Bachelor’s thesis 2021 Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences + Urban Synergy Teachers / mentors: Janek van Baal + Dirk Verhagen
Theory analyses
Urban densification Station area Barendrecht, NL
Project Analyses (GWL-terrein)
Research aim
Project Analyses (Nieuw Leyden)
Design guidelines on three scales
In my thesis I researched the potential of locations in rural areas with good public transport connections to realise attractive living areas with high building density. This is particularly relevant for younger generations who have trouble finding a home during the current housing crisis. The target group consists
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of young people with urban needs, and people from the local area who also want a garden and an extra room. The research aim was to investigate urban design guidelines that combine these urban and suburban needs with the theory that both target groups will benefit from an urban suburbia.
Urban plan for Station area Barendrecht
‘Urban wall’ + Identity of different parts (descending in density)
Central route vs stroll path (car free area)
The analyses of relevant literature showed the disadvantages of living in high, compact densities. For this reason, research into the Urban Life theory was carried out, including literature from Jan Gehl and Jane Jacobs. Due to more space being available in this type of project location, the Suburban Life
Green axes connecting to the park
theory has been introduced, which is based on the liveable qualities of suburban areas. Existing projects were analysed with the aim of finding an ideal building density and typologies which offer enough public space to put the theories into practice. This led to urban design guidelines on three scales.
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Spread of public amenities
activate routes: adjacent squares and lively plinths
One of the main design guidelines focused on the possibility to stroll around the neighbourhood. To encourage a ‘strolling neighbourhood’ it is important to spread amenities, to make paths where people can walk rounds of ‘8’, and green space near to every home. As a result, this stimulates the circulation
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Possibility to walk rounds of ‘8’
of an active street life, which is important for the resident communities of the area. To illustrate how the design guidelines could be implemented, a design was made for the unused area next to the station of suburban town Barendrecht, ten minutes away from Rotterdam by train.
Accidental visitor by train She comes to visit the recreational area closeby. A café on the corner across the station attracts her attention.
Resident 1 (31yo) Lives together with his wife and two children. He has a day of from work today.
Resident 2 (26yo) Lives together with her boyfriend and works in Rotterdam.
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Swap Gardens Landscape and garden architecture studio minor 2019 Academy of Architecture Amsterdam Teacher: Ricky Rijkenberg
Swap Gardens is a vertical allotment garden working like a machine, an idea for how the future of allotment gardens, but also how green oases, could work when there is less and less space for greenery in the cities – a parasite structure that could take over the city. The vertical allotments are
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Allotment gardens Brettenzone Amsterdam, NL
carefully placed in the assigned locations chosen in local, unused places. With this design the question could be raised: what will the future of green recreation look like? Will we need machines and vertical structures to maintain the idea of recreating in cities?
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End of Portfolio