Hello Zuidas

CONSERVATORIUM COMES TO BEATRIXPARK

Continuing focus on further reinforcing ties with Zuidas

The Conservatorium van Amsterdam music academy is set to open an annex in Beatrixpark in Zuidas, in the Kapel & Convict (Chapel & Convict) buildings. The City of Amsterdam and Amsterdam School of the Arts have signed a contract to this effect.

On 7 October 2019 the two parties signed a letter of intent. The Conservatorium wants to move to the Kapel & Convict buildings because it has outgrown its current location at Oosterdok. The teaching will take place in Convict, where there will also be practice rooms. Kapel will have a small concert hall, where classical and other public concerts will be held throughout the year. The catering facilities, to be based in Kapel, will be public and accessible to students, visitors and local residents. There will also be two terraces with views overlooking the park. The operator is not yet known.

WHAT LOCAL RESIDENTS WANT The provisional design takes account of the wishes of local residents and stakeholders as well as the historic value of the Kapel & Convict buildings and use of the park. A feasibility study was conducted in 2019, followed by intensive collaboration between the Conservatorium, Zuidas, the Association of Friends of Beatrixpark and people living close to the existing

Chapel & Convict buildings. Marleen Munniksma, Chair of the Munisami Association of Friends of Beatrixpark: ‘The Association of Friends of Beatrixpark board members were able to contribute ideas for the development of a design. We believe it’s important for the atmosphere and experience of the park, as it is now, to be maintained and enhanced.’

OPENING IN 2022 In the months ahead, we will be working on the definitive design, in order to ensure that construction can begin in the summer of 2021, if everything goes to plan. The Conservatorium is then scheduled to move in a year later, during the summer of 2022.

On 28 September the Hello Zuidas team met with its members to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Zuidas. Recent months saw many organizations busy with plans and protocols to align their business operations with the measures. What has this period been like for them? And what’s their outlook on the future? With contributions from RAI Amsterdam, ABN AMRO, VU Amsterdam, Maarsen Groep and the Municipality of Amsterdam.

FLEXIBILITY IN OFFICE BUILDINGS ABN AMRO was one of the pioneers in what is now Zuidas. Before the coronavirus outbreak, more than 6,000 people worked at its headquarters on Gustav Mahlerplein. The situation is rather different now, with most employees working from home. ‘This major change in capacity needs is giving us a lot to think about’, said Petran van Heel, Construction and Real Estate Sector banker at ABN AMRO. ‘Offices in Zuidas aren’t expected to shrink, but many office tenants are now having to rethink their setup both internally and externally.’ RESIDENTIAL DESIGN ALSO CHANGING That search for new ways to organize space inside buildings is familiar to Ton Boon, development director at Maarsen Groep (involved in the development of the Hourglass, Gershwin Brothers, Noma House and others). ‘There’s a chance the coronavirus crisis will effect a lasting change on residential design, for example making spaces for work and study a standard part of home floor plans.’ The trend to convert office buildings into apartments won’t affect Zuidas any time soon – there’s still so much building land

up for grabs. Zuidas has added quite a lot of residential stock recently and that trend is set to continue. Right now, the main opportunities are in building affordable housing.’

2021: STRONGER LINK VU AMSTERDAM WITH CITY DISTRICT Education providers all over the country have also been called upon to be more flexible in recent months, VU Amsterdam in Zuidas among them. Josja van der Veer, director of VU Amsterdam’s Facilities Campus Organization and Supervisory Board chair for the Hello Zuidas Foundation, has seen how big the impact of mandatory measures has been on university students and staff. ‘Alongside the switch to digital teaching, VU Amsterdam is focused on the wellbeing of these groups. The campus is a place where people congregate and everyone is missing that togetherness. On-site teaching will continue, but for the moment most students will stay at home.’

The VU Campus is continuing to develop, with a new research and lab centre set to open soon. ‘This is fundamental to shaping Zuidas as an Innovation District. In 2021, the link between VU Amsterdam and Zuidas as a district will be strengthened even further with the arrival of a new theatre, cinema and Sapiens. All these things will help draw local residents to this important knowledge institution in their city district.’

DIVERSITY AND VIBRANCY OF ZUIDAS More active involvement with both Amsterdam and Zuidas are an ambition for RAI Amsterdam, as well. Pauline Bottema-Sanders, general counsel at RAI Amsterdam and newly appointed chair of the Hello Zuidas Foundation’s Supervisory Board, highlighted the huge impact that business generated by RAI has on the city as a whole. ‘Whenever there was a big international event at RAI, hotels would be booked solid all the way down to Den Bosch. Impact on that scale is a powerhouse for employment, especially for hotel and restaurant bookings.’

How else could RAI leverage its knowledge and capacities for Amsterdam, and particularly Zuidas, in the future? ‘The answer lies in opportunities for its commercial spaces, offices around the complex and logistics. These are areas where RAI can continue to contribute to the future diversity of district users and the vibrancy of Zuidas.’ KEEPING EVERYONE ENGAGED Municipalities, which are used to thinking in the long term, are practically trained to look beyond a crisis. Nevertheless, the immediate impact of this crisis on people’s lives is tremendous. ‘Aside from the economic impact, there’s also a societal impact. People who live alone are having an incredibly tough time right now’, noted David van Traa, director of the Zuidas Amsterdam Development Office. ‘While young people often live in groups, elderly people living alone are more likely to become isolated by the instructions to stay at home. The municipality is doing everything possible to keep engaging these people.’

That’s precisely why injecting more life into the district and creating appealing public spaces are objectives that are more urgent now than ever. The area’s ongoing shift from high-end to more accessible is a welcome change. Also sure to help are plans for the city’s music conservatory to move to Beatrixpark.

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