Fit In, Stand Out Rijnboutt magazine #8

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Fit In, Stand Out

“The transition to a circular economy is inevitable” Jeanet van Antwerpen

“I never look at regulations” Floris Alkemade

“Chinese suburban development is quite sustainable” Paul Whalen

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Contents P.03 Foreword P.04 “The transition to a circular economy is inevitable” Jeanet van Antwerpen, director of SADC P.08 “I never look at regulations” Floris Alkemade, chief government architect P.12 Rijnboutt projects P.14 “A city that appeals to tourists is also good for its inhabitants” Hans Mommaas, director of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) P.18 “Shopkeepers have to entice us again” Tony Wijntuin, founder of WYNE Strategy & Innovation

P.22 “Germans tackle housing projects on a grand scale” Walter de Boer, CEO of BPD and Desirée Uitzetter, director of area development at BPD P.26 Gelderlandplein Amsterdam History of a shopping centre P.38 “Investing is about more than just the bricks” Ebe Treffers, manager of area development at Bouwinvest P.42 Rijnboutt projects P.44 “Amsterdam is the ideal testing ground” Arjan van Timmeren, director of the AMS Institute

P.48 “Chinese suburban development is quite sustainable” Paul Whalen, architect at RAMSA P.52 Rijnboutt projects P.54 “Sometimes I feel like a diplomat” Rogier van den Berg, urban planner at the United Nations’ UN Habitat P.58 Rijnboutt Kraków

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Fit In, Stand Out Our profession is changing rapidly. From the clients’ perspective, new parties are entering the scene, parties who work on their own portfolios and see opportunities in existing cities. Investors and builders are forging coalitions to develop urban environments: new developers, resident groups, companies and all kinds of associations are contributing to the design of the Netherlands.

This changing environment has facilitated the arrival of international parties. For some time now, international investors, retailers and consultants have been operating on the Dutch market. It is imperative that the Netherlands responds to this internationalisation because its national economy largely runs on foreign investment and knowledge transfer.

Borders are no longer a restriction in our profession. The European market is diverse, open and transparent. Obtaining information and exchanging knowledge has become increasingly easy with current technology.

The European economy is an urban economy: finance, services, knowledge development – they all take place primarily in urban regions.

As a result, the European city is an example for the intense urbanisation in other places in the world.

New forms of working and cooperating, residing (permanently or temporarily), new concepts for retail and hospitality and expressions of new subcultures are gaining currency more rapidly than ever thanks to the internet. International exchanges have a profound impact on the renewal of urban society.

Tourism, especially urban tourism, is growing enormously every year. Twenty years of investment in urban renewal seems to be paying off. A strong identity, good services, a distinctive story rooted in a rich history – that inspires people. Word of it spreads around the world.

The energy transition, managing the water problem, ensuring that migrant flows are properly dealt with, shortages in combination with ageing and the repurposing of heritage sites and vacant real estate are all urgent issues throughout Europe.

Sharing knowledge and experiences, inspiring people and being inspired by people, and new, open forms of cooperation are indispensable for some of the major tasks today. In our profession this means having meticulous, resilient and sustainable organisational principles that facilitate social change and encourage spatial quality.

Our profession’s international dimension is extremely useful in that respect.

We opened an office in Kraków, Poland this year in order to contribute to international cooperation and knowledge exchange in Europe. The affinity between Dutch assignments and Polish development is providing us with the opportunity to further develop Rijnboutt.

In this magazine, ten people who have an important vision or play an exemplary role in this context will express their views in nine interviews. They are broad representatives from spatial planning and architecture: science, the market, the government and design. Their work has an impact on the future image of our cities, an image that sets these cities apart internationally.

Richard Koek June 2016

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“The transition to a circular economy is inevitable” SADC develops international business locations in the area around Schiphol and Amsterdam.

Director Jeanet van Antwerpen has a clear goal: the transition to a circular economy.

‘I was reminded of the international character of our locations recently during a visit to a company that produces plastic supplies for the medical world. About 80 people work there, and they come from as many as 22 different countries.

‘Companies from the whole world see the Westas (roughly the area between the west of Amsterdam and Schiphol, ed.) as an appealing business location. Of course, Amsterdam has something to do with that, but Schiphol even more so. Schiphol is an incredibly strong global brand and has the reputation of being a reliable port of entry to Europe. According to Swiss logistics service provider Kuehne + Nagel,

the airport and its infrastructure are perfect for transporting and storing cargo. Others are attracted by the fact that 180 different nationalities live in the Amsterdam metropolitan area, a pool of internationally oriented personnel.’

Waste as raw material ‘The image of the Amsterdam metropolitan area as an internationally competitive business climate is what prompted the establishment of the Schiphol Area Development Company N.V., SADC for short – an initiative of the Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer municipalities, the province of North Holland and Schiphol

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Jeanet van Antwerpen director of SADC

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Group. It’s SADC’s task to work with other parties to find high-quality work locations – though I prefer the term work environment – that don’t restrict themselves to generating returns by simply selling and renting sites, but also do something meaningful on the social level. That’s why we invest in facilities on and near our work locations, devote attention to spatial quality and also concentrate on generating jobs.

‘Using this broad perspective, we will focus on the model of the circular economy in the coming years: products and materials will be reused and waste will serve as a raw material. That may sound idealistic, and perhaps a little unrealistic to some, but I believe that the transition to a circular economy is inevitable. It’s like a boulder that diverts the flow of a river.

First, if we want to maintain the quality of life in the metropolitan region – which, like the presence of Schiphol is extremely valuable – then we have to switch to “circular” thinking when it comes to water, waste and energy. Think about it: more economic activity and more inhabitants (the population of the metropolitan region is going to increase by one million by 2040, ed.) means higher energy and food consumption, more water use, more traffic, more waste – but all the while raw materials are becoming increasingly scarce.

To ensure that the metropolitan region remains a liveable, healthy and appealing place, we need to find a different way of producing, transporting and consuming.’

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Demonstrably green ‘The arguments are there for all to see in the financial sense too, which is important in this line of business. People who argue that a circular approach is more expensive than a traditional one annoy me to no end.

Take Belgian investor WDP, with whom we spoke about installing solar panels on the roofs of their logistics buildings at Schiphol Logistics Park. They were reluctant initially, but now they’ve come round. WDP realises that going green and a better sustainability evaluation ultimately generate a higher financial and social return. Moreover, banks are increasingly adapting their policy: more and more they are only financing companies that are demonstrably “green”.

‘SADC is pursuing several avenues for the transition to a circular economy. The greatest gains are being generated by locations still in development. We created the world’s very first “circular development plan” for the Valley business park (part of Schiphol Trade Park, ed.). The point of departure was to disturb the land as little as possible. Should the Valley vanish in the future, then the land will be suitable for agricultural purposes again within two years. So that meant no pipes in the ground but instead allow rainwater to drain off naturally, and working with plants that purify both the soil and the air, and which also serve as food or as a raw material. To uphold such principles in the future too, we want to remain owners of the public space. The buildings will be developed by our partner, the Delta Development Group.

They will also remain owners and issue subscriptions to interested companies.’

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Change in behaviour ‘We don’t have rules of admission. The Valley should become a global leader in terms of the circular economy, a place that companies want to be a part of.

These often turn out to be innovative entrepreneurs with the same goals as SADC and Delta, who realise that we can help them to implement circular technologies and reduce their ecological footprint.

‘Incidentally, the Valley is unique because our work has been circular from the start.

At other locations we have to deal with different parties, such as KLM, though I must say that they too are open to the idea of implementing circular principles. The challenge is to win over the site developers and building owners, which is a question of changing their behaviour: the way one calculates things, as the solar panel case of WDP illustrates; the way one makes decisions, and so on. Influencing behaviour is time consuming: we visit people, organise meetings and show inspiring examples. Companies discover on the spot that they can use each other’s waste flows, that their waste is worth something. It’s important not to do any finger pointing if a company doesn’t join us. It’s an illusion to think that we can force them to, and we can’t and don’t want to chase them away.

An accumulation of gadgets ‘This change in behaviour applies to the government as well. A simple example is how the traditional way of handling a zoning plan can throw a spanner in the works. A zoning plan only has a few

categories, so where does a concept that entails activity, offices, research and development, showrooms, affiliated services, such as food and drink facilities, and child care fit in? SADC thinks in terms of “ecosystems” of small and large businesses that want to be near each other, because they are a supplier or because one company’s residual heat may be of interest to another. Zoning plans should give leeway for these considerations.

‘Designers certainly have a role to play in all this, as is illustrated by the development plan for the Valley made by the Rotterdam firm West 8, based on a masterplan by KCAP/West 8. An important part of the circular economy is spatial quality, perception, feeling at ease. That’s a design task, one that will enable us to prevent a work environment from becoming an accumulation of gadgets, of technological feats. It’s up to the designer to make it a pleasant environment.’

Text: Mark Hendriks Discussion participant: Richard Koek, Bart van der Vossen Photography: Kees Hummel

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“I never look at regulations”

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Floris Alkemade chief government architect

Floris Alkemade is on a mission as chief government architect: to redevelop countless vacant government buildings. ‘I have a weakness for difficult cases, the ugly buildings that no one wants anymore.’

As chief government architect, Floris Alkemade – independent architect and previously employed in various countries by the architecture firm OMA – spends his days in the renovated ministry of finance.

He receives his visitors after office hours in one of the many conference rooms that lie submerged in the patio.

Since he was appointed on 1 September 2015, Alkemade has been quite vocal, also towards the general public. He has recently talked on radio and television about the possibility of using vacant buildings to accommodate refugees, for example.

Earlier this year, he launched a design competition on this subject with COA, the central agency for the reception of asylum seekers in the Netherlands. But refugees are not his only concern. ‘Vacant buildings

are interesting for all kinds of groups that can benefit from flexible types of housing, whether they be refugees, expats or students. Vacant buildings are a way out for anyone who’s coming and going.’

One of your tasks is to manage 2.9 million square metres of rejected government real estate. That seems like an impossible job.

‘It’s certainly a task that we can’t solve by ourselves. My main goal is to make sure that all these buildings are well positioned.

So not: “here’s an empty building, what can we do with it?” But instead: analyse where the building in question is situated and what kind of developments it’s going to face. Because it makes a big difference whether a building is situated in the A2 corridor between Eindhoven and the urban

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conglomeration de Randstad – perhaps the most important economic zone in the country – or in regions that are less economically viable. Or whether a building is in an area with high quality of living, such as the strip of different types of landscapes in the middle of the country between the German border and the coast.

Army barracks that are being vacated could be converted into residential complexes for the elderly, for example.’

But aren’t we taking advantage of these kinds of useful developments?

‘The solution is often local. Each building is assessed to see whether it’s suitable for student housing or as a centre for creativity, for example.’

Floris Alkemade is fascinated by buildings that lie outside of the economic hubs or in areas with mediocre quality of life. ‘I have a weakness for difficult cases, the ugly buildings that no one has any feeling for, that no one wants.’

These are precisely the buildings, according to Alkemade, that we can use to experiment with new housing concepts and uses. ‘Because nobody is interested in keeping these buildings, architects can work on them endlessly until they find the best solution for them. As a result, these buildings are extremely valuable, because we apply the lessons we learn from testing and experimenting to other redevelopment projects.’

Alkemade talks about the transformation of a 600 metre-long warehouse in Paris that no one seemed attached to and which was destined for demolition. When the building was unexpectedly saved, a competition was launched for its redevelopment.

Alkemade won the competition and worked on redesigning the building until he felt it was suitable for residences, offices, schools and shops. It was his proposal to keep intact its characteristic long form, which no one had initially cared for. It turned out to be an excellent idea. ‘Now people are embracing the building. It’s an icon for the neighbourhood.’

Why was the building preserved after all?

‘At a certain point, the owner realised that demolishing it also meant having to cleaning up the contaminated site. He felt that was too costly.’

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The decision to preserve the warehouse was therefore not driven by the consideration that redevelopment is good and offers all kinds of benefits. How do you get owners, whose decisions are primarily financial ones, to view redevelopment and transformation as valuable solutions in themselves?

‘The advantages of redevelopment – sustainable, introduce new concepts, breathe new life into areas – are well known. But these reasons alone are not enough. You have to link these things to other issues. Vacant buildings are an opportunity to approach aging, care and loneliness in a new way. Vacant premises present an opportunity to experiment and innovate.’

You already mentioned that this challenge involves many people. The most important players are the municipalities. They play a key role in the transformation of areas. What do you expect from them?

‘That they develop a vision for problems and stop mourning about matters that have dissipated, about functions that have become – necessarily or not – obsolete. The business sector can play an important part too, as Schipper Bosch’s project, which won the Golden Pyramid for the redevelopment of the Kleefse Waard industrial estate in Arnhem last year, has shown.’

A vision, an entrepreneurial perspective on the issue of vacant premises – Floris Alkemade has noticed in his international work that governments have an enormous drive to make things happen, especially in France. ‘Redevelopment projects are much more political there. The warehouse project was adopted by the mayor at a certain point. That was a massive boost: not only does that speed up the planning and implementation process, but developers and investors would never dare to withdraw from that kind of project anymore.’

The political aspect can be fickle too.

‘Absolutely. I have also experienced the same mayor dumping another project.

When that happens, years of work goes down the drain. In that sense, there’s more continuity in the Netherlands because politics is more removed.’

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What causes matters to go into deadlock in the Netherlands?

‘Regulations, building codes, that kind of thing. As an architect I never look at the regulations, because that restricts your ability to think freely. By disregarding rules about safety, the environment and so on, however briefly, you create more room for unconventional ideas and solutions – and as a result initiatives have a much better chance of succeeding.’

There’s a reason for these rules.

‘That’s true – the problem is the limited interpretation of them. It’s interesting to see which creative solutions are nonetheless possible within these restrictions and frameworks. By the way, you wouldn’t think so but the regulatory burden in France is much worse than here.

There architects immediately grab their calculators to see what is or is not allowed, while we put a roll of sketching paper on the table and start drawing.’

expensive. Owners are sensitive to that, and municipalities are unable to change their minds.

‘That’s when architects and their power of designing come into the picture. The number of people in the profession has halved in recent years, but this is an issue we can use to demonstrate our raison d’être. Show what transformation and redevelopment can lead to, show what is and what’s not possible. Vacant office space, for example, is a great opportunity to create large living spaces, such as spacious affordable studios that take up an entire storey.’

Architects can use well-founded arguments to persuade owners to redevelop a building.

‘Exactly. Although it’s opportunistic to sometimes use banal considerations, which was the case with the warehouse in Paris, where cleaning up turned out to be much too pricey.’’

Text: Mark Hendriks

Redevelopment remains a problem in cities like Vlaardingen, Zutphen and Leeuwarden. There’s no programme and contractors argue that renovating is too

Discussion participant: Richard Koek Photography: Kees Hummel

Image: Rijnboutt bv

Dutch Tech Campus Zoetermeer Having been used exclusively by Siemens for 20 years, this complex is being given a completely other purpose. The aim is to develop the complex into one of the most important technology campuses in the metropolitan region of The Hague and Rotterdam. The transformation began with several radical interventions in the landscape. Adjustments and renovations to the existing buildings, as well as the addition of new buildings, will complete the campus.

Client: Ping Properties

De Ontmoeting Amstelveen De Ontmoeting (Dutch for ‘encounter’ or ‘meeting’) is an aptly named complex with an inviting service centre with various companies and institutions that are mutually reinforcing. Indeed, De Ontmoeting is a place where living, working, recreation, comfort, care and wellness converge in a natural way. The wide range of occupants guarantees a broad common appeal with an emphasis on service provision and highquality amenities for residents, visitors and neighbours.

Client: De Nijs Care BV Warmenhuizen

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Hans Mommaas director of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL)

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“A city that appeals to tourists is also good for its inhabitants” The standard Dutch narrative of canals, clogs and tulips is no longer an adequate way of attracting tourists. Cities have to start focusing on a wider range of incentives, according to Hans Mommaas, director of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL). ‘It’s no coincidence that Rotterdam is considered one of the most interesting cities in the world.’

Most people would accept that international tourists who come to the Netherlands mainly visit the standard destinations. The first port of call is Amsterdam, with its canals, red light district and renowned museums, and other attractions in the vicinity, such as the Beemster Polder, Zaanse Schans and Volendam. This stereotypical picture is partly true: over a third of the 14 million foreign visitors in 2015 stayed in the capital.

But the situation is slightly more complicated than that, according to Hans Mommaas, director of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), but also known as a researcher examining the role that leisure time plays in urban and regional development. ‘The tourism market is more differentiated than we think. Of course there are still visitors in search of the Dutch narrative of polders, tulips and clogs. These are usually tourists from overseas – in particular Asia, which is

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a real emerging market. On the other hand, nowadays European visitors are often coming for the second or third time and want to go beyond the standard narrative.

You have to offer them something else, and that requires differentiation, creativity and modernising your established image as a tourism destination.’

Living in an amusement park The PBL director, who is also a professor of regional sustainability governance in Tilburg, cites Berlin, a city that attracts millions of tourists a year who are not necessarily there for the ‘German narrative’, as an example. Mommaas believes that Berlin is a city for the savvy tourist. Its controversial history attracts many visitors, but much more than the capital city’s image as a paradise for artists and experimental music it is a magnet for young people from all over the world.

The need to differentiate – or provide a varied range of tourism incentives – is an opportunity for a city like Amsterdam to reduce the tremendous pressure that is being exerted on its historic centre. ‘In my opinion Amsterdam is desperately looking for ways to redress the balance between being a tourist destination and a city where people live and work,’ Mommaas says.

‘Look, you used to be able to somewhat regulate the tourism infrastructure with planning restrictions. Where are you going to allow hotels to set up business?

But with the rise of Airbnb, cities have lost that control mechanism. So you have to find different ways of managing the excesses of tourism now that some people in Amsterdam feel like they’re living in an amusement park.’ Mommaas has some ideas that may help to fix the problem.

‘Focus on the north of Amsterdam. Divert people to the Groene Hart, the green space between the metropolitan areas.

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Focus on several places where tourists can experience life in Amsterdam. To a degree, this is already happening: the focus is not just on a department store like De Bijenkorf anymore, but also on the hip boutiques in the Negen Straatjes neighbourhood.’

Home market Differentiating requires a regional perspective, something that was confirmed recently in a call to accommodate international visitors in hotels in The Hague. This is not something that is easy to do in practice: few cities are inclined to relinquish the economic spoils of international tourism to someone else.

If more tourists are made to spend the night in The Hague, then the city will have to become a ‘destination’. ‘If you make a place a tourism destination,’ Mommaas says, ‘then you cannot forget that the city also has a function for its inhabitants – as a place to live, work and relax, something that has been compromised in the canal district. That means facilities intended for tourists must initially have a home market.

And they also have to have a raison d’être when there are no tourists around. In other words, locals need to use these facilities too, and have a good feeling about them.’

According to Mommaas, that is precisely why international tourism is not the economic engine that can breathe new life into run-down shopping or inner city areas.

‘If the home market isn’t up to scratch, then there’s no point making tourism your priority.’

City lounge Mommaas also believes that a location’s image as a tourism destination has to be translated into a spatial strategy – in the architecture, the urban planning renewal and the layout of public space. Rotterdam is a good example, according to the PBL

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director. ‘It’s no coincidence that this city is considered one of the most interesting cities in the world right now. The port city has worked consistently on its positioning since the 1980s.’ He sums it up as follows: first the old inland port, then the Museum Park and the Kop van Zuid district, the Wilhelmina Pier and more recently the Market Hall and the plan for public space that will designate streets and squares of Rotterdam as parts of a city lounge. ‘Mind you, tourism was not the sole driver of all these changes. But the city did realise that to make it appealing for tourists, it has to at least satisfy the wishes and needs of its own inhabitants.’

Maastricht is another example, a relatively small city that attracts masses of Germans, Belgians and British people. It also has De Bijenkorf, a department store chain that has just withdrawn from several other large cities. ‘They have deftly exploited their image as an un-Dutch, historical and exuberant city.’ This is evident everywhere in the city, including the details in public spaces, such as the cobbled paving and street furniture.’

Image as a tourist destination Differentiation is needed at the national level as well. The Chinese come to see the polders, the windmills and the farms. Germans prefer the coast – according to Mommaas, the province of Zeeland has to compete with areas on the Baltic Sea, which started developing their tourism at breakneck speed after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Mommaas has identified many opportunities for linking tourism to topical issues. He cites the Holwerd aan Zee project as an example, in which a Frisian village battling a shrinking population is using coast and water management as a way of becoming a destination instead of just a place to catch the boat to Ameland.

Connecting the village to the Wadden Sea has not only restored the natural dynamics, but it has also created promising prospects for this village, which was cut off from the sea by a massive ‘climate’ dike for dozens of years. Indeed, Mommaas cites the area called the Green Forest in the province of Brabant, which has boosted the economies of villages and areas there since being designated a tourist attraction, and the Frisian Lakes Project, where water sports activities have been used to not only improve the quality of life and increase the residential appeal, but also to conserve the area’s natural beauty. ‘Each of these is an example of a regional approach: not driven by protectionism – otherwise people will stop coming – but by allowing recreation and tourism developments to increase the appeal of this area.’

Text: Mark Hendriks Discussion participant: Richard Koek Photography: Kees Hummel

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Tony Wijntuin founder of WYNE Strategy & Innovation

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“Shopkeepers have to entice us again” It may sound funny, but shopping is not a reason in itself to visit a shopping area.

Tony Wijntuin, founder of WYNE Strategy & Innovation, explains.

‘Yes, the retail sector is facing hard times, that much is clear. I see it as an inevitable market correction that is separating the wheat from the chaff and disposing of excess store capacity. Circumstances have changed radically for shops recently. Those who can’t deal with it perish – like V&D, Perry Sport and Schoenenreus.

‘Foreign parties are introducing brandnew concepts to the Dutch market, which

is already completely saturated (the Netherlands is one of the countries with the highest shop density in Europe, which creates a great deal of competition, ed.).

But much more importantly, consumer behaviour has changed enormously. The power used to be in the hands of the shopkeepers – they knew everything and customers were going to show up regardless. But this situation has been

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turned on its head. My fifteen-year-old son knows more about a tablet or an iPhone than the salesman at Media Markt. So it makes sense that you can’t take it for granted anymore that consumers will show up – after all they have enough knowledge to order the products on the internet.

Shopkeepers have to come up with other ideas to entice customers. The ones that understand this will survive.’

Crowd puller ‘This is not necessarily a Dutch problem.

A market correction is taking place in the United States and Great Britain too. The big-box stores in particular are taking a hit, whereas small innovative shops that serve a specific market are increasingly gaining a firm foothold.

‘Essentially, consumers are saying: “Give us a good reason to come, because the product that you’re offering is not enough on its own anymore.” More and more, functional shopping, for things like daily groceries, clothes or household equipment, is taking place online. Fun shopping has great potential – I’m going shopping, not because I need something but because it’s fun. That means shopkeepers and chains have to capitalise on trends, for example the longing for new experiences, a more healthconscious lifestyle. They have to make room for food and hospitality – those are great crowd pullers – and use social media, but also think about what I refer to as “inner city delay” – people who come by public transport, by foot or by bike display different buying behaviour than people who come by car. I can easily buy a vacuum cleaner on the internet. But if the same vacuum cleaner is sold in a showroom that inspires me, where I can test the appliance and they serve good coffee, then chances are I will opt for the shop in the end – the shopping experience has enticed me to go there.’

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Airport model ‘The key is a mixture of functions, as a result of which visitors have multiple reasons to go to a shopping area. A tried and tested concept is the so-called airport model, which is based on the idea that shopping is not the main driver. This isn’t only true for airports, but also for train stations, university campuses and hospitals. The airport model is not only about generating the highest possible sales, but also about the quality and identity of the shopping area as a whole.

These kinds of concepts, used by the Woudestein campus in Rotterdam, for example, contain a number of interesting ingredients. Shopping spaces are not only rented to flourishing chains like Zara, but are also used for functions that do not generate the highest yield, but which do reinforce the image – such as a library, an authentic barber or an indoor park.

These places use sales-related rent. There is a basic rent, which increases as sales increase – this makes the area accessible not only to large chains, but also to small pioneers, and that’s good for variety.’

From the outside to the inside ‘I understand that the airport model is difficult to implement in city centres and shopping streets, where buildings are owned by different people. Nevertheless, you can achieve a great deal with shopping street management. It’s important that all parties recognise the social necessity, that together they are responsible to breathe new life into a rundown shopping area.

I’ve noticed that owners of vacant shop buildings are starting to take action and are prepared to find new purposes for their vacant buildings. They’re feeling it in their wallets: the rent is zero, while maintenance costs are going through the roof.

‘The municipality contributes by granting subsidies, making planning frameworks

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more flexible and by ensuring that public space is effectively laid out. I call that designing “from the outside to the inside”.

Shopping centres used to be designed as standard objects, but now it’s important to involve the surroundings. The customer journey already begins, so to speak, on the ring road or in the tram – as soon as you’re in the vicinity, the shopping area has to attract your attention. It’s about parking assistance, about architectural expression with awnings and entrances, the presence of cafés and restaurants on the perimeters, and the hospitality that a shopping area exudes.

‘Does this also work in medium-sized cities like Hoogeveen or Vlaardingen? Perhaps

they shouldn’t be scaling up, but should rather go back to the original set-up of a shopping centre with a butcher and a green grocer, a place where people can meet. So invest in a village identity that gives local entrepreneurs more space.’

Text: Mark Hendriks Discussion participant: Richard Koek and Frederik Vermeesch Photography: Kees Hummel

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DesirĂŠe Uitzetter director area development at BPD Walter de Boer CEO of BPD

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“Germans tackle housing projects on a grand scale” BPD, the largest developer of residential areas in the Netherlands, also operates in Germany and France. We talked to directors Walter de Boer and Desirée Uitzetter: ‘The idea that all cities are growing is a myth.’

Although the actual work in Germany doesn’t vary that much from work in the Netherlands, according to Desirée Uitzetter the two countries do differ tremendously on one point. ‘Our eastern neighbours pull out all the stops to accelerate procedures so they can alleviate pressure on the housing market. The price of renting or buying a home in urban regions soars as a result of this pressure, which the German authorities deem an unacceptable risk.’

Authorities in the Netherlands have taken serious measures in the housing market, and yet Uitzetter believes that people in the Netherlands still take this pressure on

the housing market too lightly. ‘The result is a lack of cohesion and excessive focus on small-scale initiatives, redevelopment and bottom-up initiatives. It’s hardly going to enable us to meet the massive need for new homes. This focus on existing cities is understandable, and we’re doing it as much as anyone, but we still need to boost building production and make large-scale plans – and that’s something that Germany recognises – there they tackle housing projects on a grand scale.’

Uitzetter’s colleague Walter de Boer takes a firmer line. He believes that we have lost the plot in the Netherlands. ‘This fixation

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with organic area development – people actually believe that it will enable us to successfully address the huge housing challenge and the need for non-residential construction. It became painfully clear again recently, during a seminar in Almere, how naïve that is. Figures show that private commissioning only covers 12 to 15 per cent of the construction demand. So I put it to you: who’s going to take care of the other 85 per cent?’

Regional teams Desirée Uitzetter and Walter De Boer work at BPD, as director of area development and as CEO, respectively. BPD, Bouwfonds Property Development, is the largest developer of residential areas in the Netherlands – in the past ten years the company sold 94,000 homes. The company has been operating abroad for years: in Germany since 1993, where it is one of the top 3 developers, and in France since 2001.

It also had branches in Denmark and the Czech Republic, but they were closed down following shareholder pressure. Limiting operations to three core countries – the Netherlands, Germany and France – was seen as the most promising strategy during the economic crisis.

Uitzetter and De Boer receive their visitors in Delft, in one of the four regional offices.

BPD works with regional teams that analyse local housing markets in order to actualise the best area development and housing products. This approach is also being used abroad. ‘We were able to enter the German market by taking over regional family companies,’ says Uitzetter.

Myth De Boer sees another difference between Germany and the Netherlands. ‘We are critical of our spatial planning policy. But

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compared to our eastern neighbours we haven’t done such a bad job.’ He cites the notorious problem of outdated industrial estates and empty office space. ‘It’s a hundred times worse in Germany. They have sites stretching for kilometres with buildings that lost their function ages ago.

Now these buildings have been written off, so these areas have become interesting investment objects. BPD is increasingly buying these kinds of sites – with all the buildings still there. We demolish the properties and make the area suitable for new construction.’

Yet De Boer is not suggesting that Germany is focusing on urban transformation. On the contrary, it’s a myth that cities are growing. Most demand for new housing is outside the cities. In fact, only four cities in Germany are growing: Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Leipzig – and not even because people are so eager to move to the city, but because of the influx of refugees.’

Fiscal instruments De Boer and Uitzetter are surprisingly critical of a German showpiece, namely the inner city development project in Hamburg called HafenCity. The redevelopment of part of the former port area has been split up into various building envelopes in order to create as much variety as possible, not only in terms of building style but also in terms of housing type and programme. ‘As if they wanted to let a thousand flowers bloom,’ says De Boer. ‘A great story on paper, but it’s not working and it shows: the people of Hamburg don’t want to live there, the pace of development is agonizingly slow, and as yet the scope of the project is too small to give the entire port area a new identity.’

Unlike the Netherlands and Germany, in France the government has a much bigger

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impact on the housing market. There fiscal instruments are even used to manage affairs.

All the way up to the mayor It’s difficult to get your foot in the door in France as a developer, according to Uitzetter and De Boer. Developers have to respond to tenders put out by the municipalities. These tenders don’t concern lots but large districts and entire area developments. As a bidder you have to continuously interact with the authorities about the ‘changing circumstances’ – which means parties always have to adapt their plan and bid. ‘It’s extremely difficult to land a project,’ says De Boer. ‘But once you get an assignment, you can count on their full support, all the way up to the mayor.

Until the next election at least,’ he says laughing.

In France all eyes are now on the Grand Paris project, in which infrastructural investments – for roads and public transport – are determining spatial policy.

‘The French have the guts to set priorities,’ De Boer says. ‘To put it bluntly, some areas simply take precedence over others – and large amounts of public funds are pumped into them. In the Netherlands things have always been on more equal footing. We don’t have the guts to put all our money on the Amsterdam region, for example.

Text: Mark Hendriks Discussion participants: Richard Koek, Bart van der Vossen Photography: Kees Hummel

The housing market in Germany and France Building production has been stable in France in recent years. There is demand, in particular, for second residences, especially along the coast and in the warm south. Many French view the building of a vacation home as a valuable investment.

Indeed, house ownership is widespread in France. The current housing stock is old, and commercial parties, such as investors, are well represented in the rental market (the share of social housing is smaller than in the Netherlands). The government has a major influence on the housing market: it uses tax measures and the distribution of infrastructure funds to steer the housing market.

The German government is more lenient – in part because they own little land. Home ownership is low there (only 43 per cent of households), especially as people need to have private capital to finance purchasing.

Private individuals – many Germans do buy a second home which they subsequently rent out – and commercial parties dominate the rental market (90 per cent of the rental market is private sector), though an increasing number of private parties are involved in social housing programmes.

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Gelderlandplein Amsterdam

History of a shopping centre The official opening of Gelderlandplein in Amsterdam took place on 8 April 2016. What began as a post-war community facility to serve the district of Buitenveldert was transformed in gradual stages over a number of decades into a destination that meets the needs of the cosmopolitan Zuidas. Owner Kroonenberg Groep took the initiative for the recent renovation, while Rijnboutt took care of the design.

Corner Lowaard and Van Weldammelaan looking towards Zuidas

The ‘new style’ Gelderlandplein offers a mixture of fun shopping and functional shopping, a bold and unconventional formula. Conventional wisdom in retail separates both types of shopping: buying bread does not mix well with buying a sweater. Gelderlandplein, on the other hand, brings together the worlds of food, fashion, leisure and hospitality. The quality and aspirational level of the retail chains and specialty shops are surprisingly high, and the range of goods on offer varied. There can be no doubt that this centre is based on a powerful retail concept that combines pronounced views about ‘location’ and ‘design’. This is true in terms of both the larger urban development area from Zuidas

to Beethovenstraat, and its diversification and spatial distribution on site. The primary focus is the shopping experience: in addition to a place to do your shopping, Gelderlandplein is a destination in itself. It is clean and safe, inviting and stylish, and every minute detail exudes an un-Dutch sense of quality, luxury and comfort. More even than a must-go, it is a place to spend time.

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Van Weldammelaan looking to the south, 1970

Car park Leijenberghlaan, 1977

Courtyard, 1970

The beginning The history of Gelderlandplein goes back to 1968. In that year, architect Frans van Gool (Van Gool Oyevaar Stolle) designed and completed a spacious shopping centre, a lavish community facility complementing the structure of post-war Buitenveldert. Entirely consistent with the principles of Cornelis van Eesteren’s 1934 General Expansion Plan, the urban planning design was dominated by arterial roads, green spaces and water surfaces, a rectangular framework that accommodated the required programme for the district. Consolidated and distinguished according to the functions of living, working or leisure, the shopping centre was given a place on Van Leijenberghlaan, the through road connecting Buitenveldert to Berlage’s Oud Zuid district. It was the time when the

Academic Hospital (later the VU University Medical Center) was being built, when the car became the vehicle of everyone’s individual mobility, the phone booth appeared on the street scene, the time when ‘new’ was still synonymous with ‘modern’.

Van Gool, who had gained experience working on Lijnbaan, one of Rotterdam’s main shopping streets, drew a free composition of linked rectangular volumes around two open courtyards based on a completely abstract programme that only roughly indicated the dimensions.

Surrounded by free-standing canopies and a ground-level car park on the perimeter, an office slab with six layers was quite brusquely built on top of the west side of

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Courtyard with view of car park Van Leijenberghlaan, 1970

the structure, a move that Van Gool would later call a ‘real estate decision’. The entire complex radiates a belief in the durability of form, in an independent architectural vernacular that gives expression to the whole. And yet the complex did not last more than a generation, overtaken by the notion that equates the success of a shopping centre to its ability to manage the transience of a retail programme and facilitate the ever-changing demands of shop owners and consumers.

Structural map of Gelderlandplein and environs 1968

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Test with dark columns based on proposal by Rijnboutt, 2009

Structural map of Gelderlandplein and environs 1997

First transformation In 1989, architecture firm Ellerman Lucas Van Vugt was commissioned to carry out a radical renovation. There were plans to have Buitenveldert and Rivierenbuurt assimilated into the larger urban district of Zuideramstel, and moreover, Gelderlandplein’s striking diversification was attracting attention in the region. The shopping and office volume, as well as the number of residences, needed to be substantially expanded. It led to a second office tower, a long horizontal row of housing units and a residential tower with luxurious apartments. The canopies that were so characteristic of Van Gool’s design were torn down, and new aluminium façade cladding gave the building a resonance befitting a modern shopping centre. What had been previously at the mercy of the elements was now covered; the courtyards and passages received roofing with glass building elements to filter in the daylight.

The loss of parking spaces at ground level was compensated by an above-ground car park on the south side of the complex and an underground car park that is connected to the heart of the interior system of passageways by an inclined travelator.

The Groot Gelderlandplein shopping centre opened its doors in 1997 and changed its image from a central community facility to a shopping centre with luxurious specialty shops and boutiques.

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Van Leijenberghlaan entrance

Second transformation

Structural map of Gelderlandplein and environs 2016

Gelderlandplein’s position changed yet again with the arrival of Zuidas.

With 1.3 million m2 of office space and about 8,000 dwellings, Zuidas is Amsterdam’s second centre and the urban centre for international business affairs and knowledge development. In addition to offices and housing, Zuidas also has shops, child care, schools, sports centres, cafés and restaurants, which is indicative of the area’s domestic and even international appeal.

Station Zuid connects with the NoordZuidlijn, has a direct link to Schiphol Airport. In the future, the high-speed train from Brussels and Paris and the ICE from Cologne and Berlin will stop at Zuidas as well. This will make Station Zuid one of the Netherlands’ three main railway stations, together with Amsterdam CS and Utrecht CS. People living and working in Zuidas will undoubtedly use the retail and hospitality facilities in Buitenveldert too. Only 600 metres from Gelderlandplein, Zuidas is

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Look and feel

what triggered the second transformation of the shopping centre. The transformation encompassed the entire complex, and this time it entailed a substantial expansion of floor space for retail and hospitality.

In response to the needs of Zuidas, and in line with the municipality’s policy to reduce vacant office space to an acceptable level, part of the existing office volume was repurposed into a hotel for short or extended stays with restaurants, bars and conference and meeting facilities.

The emphasis in the transformation, however, lay on the shopping centre’s new overall identity. The look and feel of the 1997 design was hackneyed in light of current retail standards, as was the shopping centre’s diversification, which lagged behind the demands of the cosmopolitan Zuidas crowd. A new balance was imperative.

The assignment called for a design with a balanced, strong and stylish framework for shops, for high-quality materials, a new presence. These can be found in every detail.

The floor is made of natural stone; large, subtly veined tiles in shades of grey and brown, which though different from each other do not dominate anywhere, set the tone for a palette of anthracite, warm greys and chalk-white. The materials have been meticulously synchronised with one another, avoiding disharmony.

The signage is serene and sleek. The glass elements in the passages have vanished, and the ceiling filters out excess daylight.

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All the technology (light, ventilation, Wi-Fi) is swallowed up by the dark zone under the continuous roof light. The tight rhythm of the sound-insulating slats is abated by daylight and artificial light, which alternate in terms of interplay and intensity.

In terms of the length of people’s visits, the internal shopping route has improved, with its double 8-structure. Larger units with new, double-height shopfronts unveil themselves from the ground-floor passageways, which ensures maximum vibrancy. The skylights of the double-height shopfronts have a chrome-steel frame.

This frame echoes the exterior façade and provides a subtle mix of inside and outside.

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Design 1968

by Oyevaar Stolle Van Gool

Canopy

Design 1997

by Ellerman Lucas Van Vugt

Expansion and covering of courtyards

Customer journey Unlike Van Gool’s time, the way leading there is an indispensable part of the ‘customer journey’, and its design is therefore part of the task. Whether you get to Zuidas by shuttle or by car via the car park, the routing plays a prominent role in the design choices. That starts with the positioning of the entrances – which were reduced from five to three and feed into the area’s main arteries – and the materials used in the exterior space. Once closer to Gelderlandplein, the light shiny variation replaces the standard concrete paving tile, the environment is spared from excess street furniture and uniquely designed lamp posts add to the look and feel of the entire complex. The number of cars on the street is limited by the optimum use of parking facilities beneath and around the shopping centre.

The façade is characterised by understated yet meticulously detailed shopfronts that define the shopping centre’s building line.

Majestic canopies, the rectangular openings of which subtly filter the sunlight, mark each of the three entrance zones. The crucial corners – adorned by double-height shop windows, high-quality cafés and restaurants with pavement seating, and a hotel – ensure vibrancy, even after the shopping centre has closed for the day.

Gelderlandplein accommodates various specialty shops that are not part of a chain.

The centre has 80 shops, not counting facilities such as cafés and restaurants and other services.

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Design 2016

by Rijnboutt

1 E xpansion and seeking out building line

3 C oncentration of entrances (from 5 to 3)

2 Improving shopping route with ‘double-8’ structure

3 2 1

P 4 P rogrammatic support entrance areas (high-quality hospitality)

5 Shopping centre’s character: from introverted to extroverted

6 C oncentration of parking and other facilities

P

Place to be The ‘new style’ Gelderlandplein has exactly what contemporary retail wants in a shopping centre: a pleasant atmosphere, comfortable and above all elegant. All this is reflected in the harmony of colours and materials, the acoustics, and the entry of light. The days are gone when a customer would walk into a shop only if he actually wanted to buy a product. Today’s customer wants to be ‘received’ before deciding whether to buy something. Shop windows are not only there to give visitors a glimpse of the merchandise on display, but also to entice them to actually ‘experience’ the merchandise – instead of just looking at it, to also feel, smell and taste it. The perfect shop is a world that inspires customers, and the perfect shopping centre is a place where all these different but complementary worlds converge. Many chains and brands use what’s called cross-channel: connected to the physical shop is a webshop where people can buy products too. Unlike the webshop, where you can buy what you want when you want it, the offline world is all about providing inspiration.

Stimulating the senses is an important tool in this endeavour: the smell of citrus fruit or fresh coffee, the chance to experience the difference between cotton, silk and cashmere.

Gelderlandplein, once designed as a community facility for post-war Buitenveldert, part of a package of necessary services for the district, has transformed stage by stage into a modern place to be, an environment that appeals to the senses and which offers more than just an opportunity to do your daily grocery shopping. The ‘new style’ Gelderlandplein conforms to the needs of modern consumers. The webshop is there for people’s convenience and for fast and after-hours shopping: the physical shop is there to let people experience shopping, to receive visitors and devote attention to them, to provide them with the opportunity to experience a product in all its facets. The ‘new style’ Gelderlandplein was designed to give that consumer something extra.

Historical visual material (black and white): Amsterdam City Archives Other photography: Kees Hummel

A survey conducted by Bouwfonds Investment Management revealed that in late 2013 almost every square metre of shopping centres in the Netherlands, France and Germany needed to be modernised. Rijnboutt is currently working on the transformation of various leading retail locations in the Netherlands. In addition to Gelderlandplein, they include De Barones in Breda, Hilvertshof in Hilversum and Nowadays in the city centre of Amsterdam.

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“The ultimate shopping centre has an international feel to it, offers more than just shopping and is a destination in itself. I regularly go to Miami, and when I’m there I go to Aventura Mall and Bal Harbour Shopping Mall. Because of the pleasant atmosphere, the varied range of merchandise, and the luxurious sensation.

The quality that you find there was one of the catalysts for what I had in mind for Gelderlandplein.�

Lesley Bamberger, director of Kroonenberg Groep

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Ebe Treffers manager of area development at Bouwinvest

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“Investing is about more than just the bricks” Foreign investors are increasingly entering the Dutch real estate market. Ebe Treffers from Bouwinvest isn’t concerned. ‘More rivals means we have to make more of an effort to distinguish ourselves from the competition.’

The talk with Ebe Treffers takes place in a residential-commercial complex on the north side of the Olympic Stadium in the south of Amsterdam. This is familiar territory for Treffers, manager of area development at Bouwinvest, an organisation that invests money from pension funds and insurers in real estate.

‘The building we’re in now is part of Het Kwartier, which has about 450 rented accommodations. In addition to this property, Bouwinvest is also developing rented housing on Stadionplein.’

Bouwinvest also owns the commercial spaces and the car park in the Olympic Stadium – and since just over a year both Citroën buildings: the Zuidgebouw from

1931 and the Noordgebouw from 1962, both designed by the architect Jan Wils.

Together with the Olympic Stadium they form a defining ensemble. ‘The Noordgebouw is a national monument with 15,000 square metres of floor area. We are turning it into a multifunctional building, with cafés and restaurants on the ground floor and workspace for the headquarters of the American sports brand Under Armour, for example. It’s the kind of company that fits in with the Olympic character of the area, which is rooted in sports and physical activity. Indeed, that explains why Pon, which conducts research into new forms of mobility, has decided to move in to the south Citroën building. We will retain the

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historical character of the Citroën buildings with this redevelopment. Soon these two iconic buildings will form the centrepiece of The Olympic Amsterdam district, an area with international prestige with room for major events.

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that will boost the quality of the area.’

Five Dutch funds Bouwinvest has been investing pension assets from various pension funds in real estate for over sixty years. The largest shareholder is bpfBOUW, a pension fund for the construction sector. Other investors include a number of Dutch pension funds and recently an international insurer.

Bouwinvest’s most important task is to achieve stable returns in the long term, explains Treffers. ‘That’s why we develop an investment strategy for each fund (the company manages five Dutch funds: housing, shops, offices, care and hotels, ed.). It outlines what kind of returns we think we can achieve, what regions we should focus on, and so forth.

Based on that, we develop investment and acquisition plans: what’s happening in which cities, in which locations is building or redevelopment taking place, what are the urgent tasks, what’s a given municipality’s policy? That’s how we determine in which places and in which areas we are going to invest sustainably.’

More than bricks ‘Going that one step further – referred to in our profession as adding value beyond bricks – as a long-term investor, we look beyond just the bricks but also invest in the appeal of the area around our property.

That’s what guarantees a long-term return. Tenants and users – and in the end our shareholders too – benefit from an appealing residential environment.’

A case in point is the Nowadays shopping arcade between Damrak and Nieuwendijk, an area that attracts many visitors but which also has strong appeal. ‘By moving the old arcade and transforming the office spaces above it into shops for international retailers,’ Treffers says, ‘we have made this an attractive place to shop and spend time.

It’s not enough in a case like this to merely spruce up the frontage. We are investing in more than just the bricks: an attractive outside area, an underground bicycle shed beneath Beursplein, the addition of art in the new arcade.’ These kinds of decisions need to be explained to shareholders – the money, after all, belongs to the people in the pension scheme. ‘It’s important to persuade them that these investments are necessary to make retail projects like this profitable in the long term.’

Importance of quality Bouwinvest is not the kind of firm to wait till a project has been completed before bidding on it. So that means getting involved at the earliest stage possible to ensure that projects generate adequate long-term returns. ‘Some investors work differently. They invest at a later stage once a project’s details have been completely fleshed out, partly because they cannot be actively involved throughout the entire process.’

The area development around the Olympic Stadium is a good example of how Bouwinvest approaches its work. ‘We bought the Citroën buildings – without tenants and without a fully elaborated plan at the time of purchase. As we put great stock in the quality of the buildings and their surroundings, we were confident that we could warm the municipality to our plans. Which is what happened. Together with the municipality we developed a plan

Investment climate In the last year and a half, Treffers has noticed that foreign parties involved in commercial real estate have started to enter the Dutch residential investment market. They’re investing, among other reasons, because of the stable rental market in the Netherlands, and not least because the cost of buying properties in cities like London and Paris are going through the roof. So foreign investors are trying to get a foothold in the Netherlands and especially in the Amsterdam area by buying up entire housing portfolios.

Treffers will not go so far as to call foreign competition a negative development. ‘Of course there have been more competitors for some time now, but it doesn’t make that much difference whether they are from the Netherlands or abroad. It means that parties challenge each other more, and this encourages innovation and bolsters the investment climate. What sets us apart is

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that we have several Dutch funds at our disposal, so we are able to make areaspecific investments.’ Some foreign parties are looking for local investors who will help them enter the Dutch market. Take The Olympic Amsterdam, where Bouwinvest is investing in homes, offices and shops.

‘Being a local firm,’ says Treffers, ‘we can find the right partners quickly, but conversely we are also easy to approach for foreign investors.’

In fact, Bouwinvest operates abroad too. The firm invests all over the world – though only with bpfBOUW money – in other funds. ‘So we don’t immediately put our money into bricks in other countries,’ Treffers says. ‘Just as Bouwinvest is very familiar with the market and the circumstances here, in other countries we use the knowledge and expertise of local real estate investors.’

Text: Mark Hendriks Discussion participant: Frederik Vermeesch Photography: Kees Hummel

The Olympic Amsterdam with at the bottom centre The Olympic 1962 and 1932 Image copyright: Wax visualizations

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De Barones Breda

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Ongoing project Kroonenberg Groep became owner of De Barones (1997) in 2005. The shopping centre has a good market position and wide appeal. To safeguard this important position, the centre will undergo a thorough revitalisation. The visitor’s ‘experience’ factor is going to be a key element of this revitalisation, as well as the spatial articulation of shops spread across more than a single storey.

Client: Kroonenberg Groep / 3W real estate

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The Olympic 1962 Amsterdam The repurposing of the CitroÍn buildings in front of the Olympic Stadium is going to reinforce the international character of the area. The Olympic Amsterdam is the ambitious name given to a multifunctional programme of restaurants, offices, retail trade, housing and active public space near Zuidas: from a former icon of progress to a new purpose in the Amsterdam metropolitan region.

Client: Bouwinvest Development BV

Image: Bouwinvest / Wax visualizations

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“Amsterdam is the ideal testing ground�

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Arjan van Timmeren director of the AMS Institute

Research institute AMS is exploring ways of solving urban issues in Amsterdam with technological developments. Citizens and users play a key role in this process by testing new applications.

‘Innovation that serves the city – that’s what it’s all about,’ says director Arjan van Timmeren.’

The jury that declared Amsterdam the European capital of innovation in April has revealed that one of the important arguments in awarding the prize was the work of AMS, the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions. The prize, worth 950,000 euros, is an initiative of the European Union.

Scientific director of AMS Arjan van Timmeren, who is also a professor of environmental technology and design at Delft University of Technology, is pleased with the award, but isn’t making a huge fuss about it either. ‘Of course Amsterdam deserves this prize. It has good universities and a lot of start-ups are establishing themselves here. But there’s a long way to go, especially in the area of what I call participatory empowerment – the use of new technologies to engage citizens in the city’s development and design.’

Eindhoven was a contender too. Wouldn’t it have made more sense if they had won?

‘Yes, Eindhoven certainly could have won too, and it wouldn’t have been undeserved.

I think the difference is that in Amsterdam innovations trickle down into urban renewal, whereas innovation in Eindhoven mainly benefits specific branches, high tech in particular – so the city is less aware of it.’

Innovation that serves the city: it’s part of AMS’s DNA. The research projects conducted on behalf of the research institute – a collaborative effort between Delft University of Technology, Wageningen University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – are ‘tested’ on site and by citizens. According to Van Timmeren, this is a fundamentally different approach than the one IBM and Cisco use to build what they call smart cities. ‘These companies “slide” boxes with technological systems into the city and then measure everything that can be measured. And though they say the design is as effective and sustainable as possible, these companies do not involve or consult many other people.

‘A place like Masdar City (a city in the desert of Abu Dhabi that has to run completely on sustainable power, ed.) is essentially a city based on control, where a handful of people have a monopoly on all the data. We shouldn’t applaud that, there are too many catches involved.’

Data is also extremely important for AMS’s aim to find new technological applications.

What are you doing differently?

‘We have access to all kinds of data, via open channels such as the media, as well as information that our partners – Shell,

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Alliander, Waternet, KPN, ESA, KNMI, but also IBM and recently even Google too – put at our disposal. Think, for example, of travel behaviour and energy and water consumption. We are getting ready, together with an Amsterdam health institute, to link data from the Public Health Service about who is ill and where, to information about buildings, climate and habitat. The big difference is that AMS doesn’t keep the data for itself or resell it, but offers it via a so-called value platform.

We process and translate the multitude of data in our research projects. That’s better than simply making everything public straight away – people wouldn’t know how to navigate through it all. It goes without saying that privacy is a top priority in all this.’

Who benefits from this platform?

‘In the first place the researchers who launch projects at our institute – right now there are 39 ongoing research projects. But the municipality of Amsterdam benefits too. Cities are yearning for these kinds of neutral data platforms. At the moment they still depend too much on technology companies, but municipalities are reluctant to enlist them – data specialists rarely divulge their approaches and algorithms, so as a city you’re stuck with a company like that for years.

‘Ultimately it’s the citizens of Amsterdam who benefit. By processing data objectively you create knowledge, and by sharing we are putting all kinds of parties – researchers, companies and private individuals – in a position to develop applications that make the people and city of Amsterdam “smarter”.’

What are some examples?

‘For the SAIL2015 event we analysed how to guide crowds through the city more efficiently. We didn’t use just one or two datastreams, but combined various channels: GPS, mobile phone data, WiFi, but also social media like Twitter – for example, by following the “sail” hashtag.

That enabled us to chart where large groups of people were congregating, where the biggest danger of overcrowding and bottlenecks were and therefore also when an extra ferry was needed or to which car parks we should guide cars on the ring

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road. Another example is the app that Amsterdam residents can use to predict heavy rainfall. The app combines data from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute with localised information about rain showers that residents share on social media. The app makes it possible to predict quite accurately how a shower will pass over a city – cyclists in particular can use that information to adapt their routes.’

Will these inventions help us to solve urban issues, such as climate adaptation, the shortage of raw materials and energy production?

‘Waternet can use the rain app to determine where major problems will arise in the city during severe downpours and then take appropriate measures. But our research projects also focus on how the urban habitat can really be changed.

In Buiksloterham we are experimenting with housing according to the principles of the circular economy. In the south-east of Amsterdam, near the Arena stadium, we are helping companies link up “flows” – people, data, energy, waste and water.

‘Amsterdam is the perfect stage to work on these kinds of global issues. While the city does face similar problems to those encountered in metropolises like Paris, London, Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai and New York, its small-scale character and the contact one has with public and private parties makes it an ideal testing ground for experiment and feedback.’

Soon Amsterdam’s population will reach a million. A large portion of the newcomers will end up in existing urban areas – about 50,000 dwellings have been drawn in a map of so-called ‘acceleration locations’ around the ring zone. That is having a huge impact on what Van Timmeren calls the ‘metabolism’ of the city: water flows, mobility, waste processing, energy production, but also the hordes of tourists that descend on the city. ‘The city is bursting at the seams,’ says Van Timmeren, ‘and that requires efficient and clever organisation.’

Many consortia are approaching AMS for research into how the city can be organised more efficiently. If an idea tallies with the course AMS is taking, then the institute

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will invest money in it, but never more than 16 per cent: the rest has to come from others. ‘Huge opportunities are opening up there. Someone with an idea doesn’t necessarily have to win over his neighbour.

He can create a community using social media at the district or even city level.’

Is AMS already supporting citizen initiatives?

‘Absolutely. For example, we are talking to Pauline Westendorp, who has launched a number of initiatives in which urban inhabitants and entrepreneurs are generating energy themselves. I have to talk till I’m blue in the face to even be allowed to support these kinds of projects.

After all you’re supporting “groups of citizens” and you have to ask yourself how effective that is on the scale of the entire city – and whether it dovetails with the conditions and aims set by the municipality and university boards.’

AMS is not a classic research institute.

‘Definitely not. We were once referred to as Amsterdam’s third university, but I always refute that. Someone once suggested establishing AMS in the Science Park.

That’s not an option – we shouldn’t be outside the city but inside it. The idea now is to move around the city as a pop-up institute. So one day we show up in an empty building or on a location scheduled for development – such as the Marine Establishment – and stay there for a year or two, “feed” the city and then move on.’

Text: Mark Hendriks Discussion participant: Richard Koek Photography: Kees Hummel

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“Chinese suburban development is quite sustainable” The American architect Paul Whalen designs buildings all over the world. Yet his firm RAMSA has not opened any auxiliary branches.

‘We safeguard quality from a single office.’

Architect Paul Whalen works at RAMSA – short for Robert A.M. Stern Architects – New York. The firm operates worldwide, in countries such as Japan, India, Canada and France. Whalen flies to China every six weeks, where he works mainly on new residential areas, though the demand for plans for mixed-used urban environments has been on the rise lately. ‘Our Chinese clients give us the freedom to introduce concepts that one doesn’t immediately associate with Chinese urban planning practice – which essentially has the image of a planning machine that keeps rolling out the same development plan on massive pieces of land. Our designs are characterised by a hierarchy in public

spaces, made-to-measure geometric forms, a varied layout – so that a walk becomes an unexpected experience for people.’

These qualities, referred to by Whalen as walkability, are very particular to New York, but also to Europe, and thus not restricted to a particular continent. They are universal principles of good urban planning, according to Whalen. ‘Few people know this, but the old neighbourhoods of Shanghai, built in the 1920s and 1930s, have the same qualities. China was an open country at the time. Trade was flourishing and domestic and foreign architects were designing magnificent neighbourhoods, with streets and squares, houses and apartments.’

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A single office The RAMSA firm was not only admired by the Asians for its 50 Connaught Road Central project in Hong Kong, which the firm completed in 2011, but also for a residential tower from 2008 located at 15 Central Park West in New York, on the edge of Central Park. Paul Whalen believes that this apartment building personifies RAMSA’s understated design approach.

The traditional style of this limestone tower seamlessly blends in with the elegant skyscrapers from the 1920s.

Potential clients visiting New York were intoxicated upon seeing the residential tower – and that’s what they wanted.

Chinese developers in particular, who come from a country that is gradually opening itself to the world, are showing enormous interest in Western architecture. According to Whalen, the building on Central Park reminded them of an international style that they once had themselves, of a design tradition that they had forgotten once existed.

RAMSA’s international profile has not impelled the firm to open branches in other countries. ‘We want to safeguard the quality of our work from a single office,’ Whalen says. ‘And we’re glad to have made this decision. All too often we hear of auxiliary branches that have become too local and lost their original international character.’

Of course, RAMSA’s team is international.

It is extremely important to have Chinese staff members who speak Mandarin to bridge cultural differences. ‘Though I have to say that these differences aren’t as huge as they are made out to be,’ says Whalen.

‘Our clients give us extraordinarily sharp and very thorough feedback, and they have broad interests.’

No detached houses Whalen is aware of the discussion about ethical issues in China, such as human rights and sustainability. He has no illusions regarding the former. ‘I don’t think that we can restore freedom of expression with architecture,’ Whalen says. However, he believes there are better opportunities in terms of sustainability. ‘We can certainly have an impact in that area,’ says Whalen.

‘In fact, Chinese suburban development is more sustainable than the sprawl in America – we attach no value whatsoever to land. The Chinese do. They don’t build detached houses but prefer high density housing. As a result, public transport

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functions well, and walking and cycling are popular modes of transport.’

RAMSA designed a shop building in Amsterdam on Damrak, straight across from Beurs van Berlage where the C&A building used to be, a late-modernist interpretation from the 1960s. The Americans demonstrated their ability to bring the qualities of the environment and the narrative of the place to the surface, with assistance from Rijnboutt.

In the spirit of Berlage The space of the C&A building used to be occupied by another shop and office building, which burned down in 1962. This building, designed by Berlage in the early 20th century, was an amalgamation of three smaller buildings. Though this building was large for its time, it fit into Damrak’s façade as a result of its fine details and vertical articulation. This was not the case with the modern C&A building: the extensive use of concrete and horizontal play of lines of this colossus severed the rhythmic pattern of high, narrow buildings. A defining passageway – which was an old alley in Berlage’s time – was demolished and took on the character of an eerie car park.

Whalen and his team’s new shop building undid all that, while keeping the shell intact.

‘We took a close look at the buildings in the vicinity, and we read a great deal about the style Berlage used. We also frequently visited Amsterdam-Zuid for inspiration.

What’s more, in the spirit of Berlage and his love for ornamentation, we embellished the passageway with a work of art by Arno Coenen, Iris Roskam and Hans van Bentum.’

‘I would even go as far as to say that every architect should use this approach,’ Whalen concludes, ‘no matter what country he comes from. Still,’ he says, laughing, ‘I suspect the design invariably has some element of the American in it, though I‘d be hard pressed to point out exactly what that is.’

Text: Mark Hendriks Discussion participant: Frederik Vermeesch Photography: Kees Hummel

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Nieuwendijk 196 Amsterdam With Berlage’s old department store in mind, the former C&A building on Damrak was transformed into a contemporary retail destination. At the same time, an office building on Nieuwendijk was replaced by a department store for Zara and JD. The transformation is one of the key projects of the municipality’s 1012 project and is a massive step in the right direction in retaining the quality of Damrak and Nieuwendijk’s appearance.

Client: Bouwinvest and TOP Vastgoed

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Bellavista (Thorbecketoren) De Savornin Lohmanplein The Hague Ongoing project A high office tower is being converted into luxurious flats with a view of the sea and the dunes. As part of the De Savornin shopping centre, which has been so successful for this city district, Thorbecketoren is a splendid example of transformation, redevelopment and investment housing. A new icon in The Hague’s green residential environment.

Client: Urban Interest

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Rivierzone Vlaardingen For a decade, people in Vlaardingen were talking about the transformation of the river zone as a way of reinforcing the town’s urban structure. In 2015, the municipality signed a development agreement to actually carry out this ambitious project. In the coming decade, the area will be transformed from a neglected port area to an integral part of the urban central area of Vlaardingen.

Client: Consortium Rivierzone Vlaardingen, OMA Amsterdam, Kroon & De Koning, VolkerWessels Image: Rijnboutt bv

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“Sometimes I feel like a diplomat”

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Rogier van den Berg urban planner at United Nations’ UN Habitat

On behalf of UN Habitat, Rogier van den Berg advocates sustainable urban development all over the world. ‘I have to be certain that a city council is 100% committed.’

The Netherlands is a stopover – this morning he was still in Belarus and after the weekend he’ll be on his way to Suriname again. Urban planner Rogier van den Berg travels all over the world for the United Nations. ‘If you have to travel to South America from the east, then it’s nice to spend a few days in the Netherlands.

Then I can see my son and attend the Rotterdam architecture biennial.’

In the Belarusian capital Minsk, Van den Berg visited a seminar on urban planning.

‘Everyone was there: mayors from all the large cities, urban architects, developers and planners. They were all curious about sustainable urban development, about new methods. Engagement was the main focus during the seminar. How do you engage others in making a masterplan?’

Planning and urban development in Belarus is characterised by a top-down culture in which the national government still calls the shots. To what extent is that compatible with more engagement?

‘The seminar was a minister’s initiative.

He recognises that the top-down approach is nearing its end. Protests during spatial interventions are on the rise. People are no longer letting themselves be overruled or chased off their land. Moreover, the Belarusian government needs to find new forms of financing. Public money is running dry, partly as a result of massive inflation.’

What’s the reason for your involvement?

‘These kinds of seminars can initiate collaboration. UN Habitat’s regional office has already spoken to the minister on

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numerous occasions, discussing what he wants and what we can do for him.’

‘We’ is UN Habitat, the United Nations’ programme on urban planning, for which Rogier van den Berg set up the Urban Planning and Design Laboratory in 2014.

In this ‘urban lab’ Van den Berg and his team work worldwide on developing sustainable cities. ‘Cities are very popular, and the wave of urbanisation is generating urgent problems all over the world in the areas of climate adaptation, economic equality, mobility and energy production.

In many cities, where there is no planning apparatus, where rules and regulations are inadequate, where financial resources are lacking, people don’t know how to approach these kinds of tasks. That’s where we step in.’

In countries such as Colombia and South Africa – where middle-income earners are the largest group – UN-Habitat is hired directly by city councils. But UN-Habitat also gets paid by other sources. Setting up the urban lab in Haiti following the earthquake was funded by money collected

by US Aid. You visit many countries. How do you prepare for that?

‘I’ve learned that there’s little point to do classic area analyses – the reality is always different than what’s on maps. Our regional offices are extremely valuable. The people working in them, who are usually well

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educated with access to a large network, know a great deal, and they show you around, inform you. That’s invaluable. I speak to everyone in the first days: from the mayor to civil servants and consultants.

That often gives me a good idea of where things stand.

‘I think it’s important to get an idea, as quickly as possible, of the willingness to drastically change unwanted developments – unregulated urbanisation, atrocious public space, an inefficient public transport system. I have to be certain that a city council is 100% committed – that they will free the financial resources, that they have the courage to adapt rules and regulations, and that they will change their style of governance. This commitment is essential in my opinion. See, the United Nations blue flag gets things done, and sometimes even brings in new investors, but all of that is pointless if public administrators and civil servants aren’t fully committed to changing an undesirable situation.’

That sounds like the kind of work a diplomat does?

‘That’s true to a certain extent, but then as an urban planning diplomat. In other words, project and plan-driven. I’m the first to introduce changes to a plan, which I then present. In Accra, for example, we presented a concept plan for urban expansion (the population of the Ghanaian capital will grow from 2.5 to 4.2 million people in the next ten years, ed.) to initiate

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a dialogue with politicians, landowners, and stakeholders. We wanted to persuade everyone that a planned spatial approach will result in improvements for all these people. At the same time, we wanted to outline what is necessary to make this kind of plan succeed: in terms of regulations and financing, but also organisation. Accra needs a planning authority – and not a group of ministers that meet every now and again – but a project office manned by full-time experts with responsibilities and a budget.’

identifies bottlenecks and opportunities, and we base our work on that. My experience involving stakeholders is also useful. In Johannesburg, for example, they wanted to redevelop an old mining area without consulting even a single landowner. You’re not likely to get much done then. Incidentally, we achieved some great results in Johannesburg. More than 90 per cent of public investments were granted to key projects that we helped set up, such as improving public transport and revitalising the city centre.’

Does basing your arguments on a plan work in areas and cities facing war, poverty or famine?

‘Absolutely. It’s a misconception to think that people in conflict areas are continuously preoccupied with war. The mayor of Bosaso in Somalia deals with extremely “practical” matters, such as street lights or the building of a hotel or a market hall to boost tourism. This man sees spatial planning as a way of dealing properly with the growth of refugee camps on the outskirts of his city.’

Text: Mark Hendriks

Has your Dutch background helped you in any way?

‘The fact that I start with a plan, that I make sure the design has a place early in the process – these are very Dutch attributes in my opinion. And the fact that the design contributes to the political decision-making process. The design

Photography: Kees Hummel

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Address: Slusarska 9, 30-710 Kraków, Poland

Rijnboutt Kraków On 1 February 2016, Rijnboutt opened a second branch in the Polish city of Kraków.

There are incredible transformation assignments in Poland, varying from repurposing to area development. Rijnboutt has extensive experience with these kinds of jobs and always takes into account a building’s urban context. Rijnboutt sees Poland as a highly promising market. www.rijnboutt.pl www.twitter.com/rijnboutt_pl

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Colophon Rijnboutt magazine no. 8 Editing: Jan van Grunsven (editorial board) Jacklin Goverde Text: Mark Hendriks (interviews) Richard Koek (foreword) Jan van Grunsven (Gelderlandplein insert) Translation: Mark Speer Photography: Kees Hummel Graphic design: Thonik Print run: 2,300 Copyright: Rijnboutt bv June 2016 We have made every endeavour to trace copyright holders. Copyright holders who we were unable to contact are asked to please contact Rijnboutt.

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Rijnboutt Amsterdam Barentszplein 7 1013 NJ Amsterdam The Netherlands Postbus 59316 1040 KH Amsterdam The Netherlands T +31 (0)20 530 48 10 info@rijnboutt.nl www.rijnboutt.nl www.twitter.com/rijnboutt

Rijnboutt Krakรณw Slusarska 9 30-701 Krakรณw Poland Librowszczyzna 3 31-030 Krakรณw Poland T: +48 12 307 37 38 info@rijnboutt.pl www.rijnboutt.pl www.twitter.com/rijnboutt_pl

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