Kees Christiaanse in Vastgoedmarkt about urban planning in Rotterdam

As the spatial concept for Switzerland is turning ten years old, it is time to revise this agreement on the shape and future of the country. To this end, Hochparterre is setting up the Agenda Raum Schweiz 2040 that is meant as a collage where experts from different disciplines give their view on designing Switzerland. Anouk Kuitenbrouwer, partner at KCAP, shares her thoughts on strategies for adaptive cities as places where the changing planning practice is reflected. She explains how ”the classic tools of urban design, such as structure, grain, typology, and uses, can be used in new ways to create attractive neighborhoods with a high identification potential that are sustainable simply because of their adaptability. The many uncertainties that accompany processes of change, certainly don’t allow a “one-size-fits-all” answer. However, they surprisingly give new meaning to KCAP’s framework & rule based design approach. One thing Anouk knows: ”In Switzerland, we need more space for experimentation. We must examine the city across disciplines from the perspective of the future. The knowledge is there. Now we need to develop it accordingly.” Read more on (in German): Hochparterre - Planung & Städtebau - Die adaptive Stadt Image: Agenda Raum Schweiz 2040, Madlaina Janett

Irma van Oort, partner and architect at KCAP, explains in a conversation with Vastgoedjournaal the challenges of high-rise. She knows very well that a project is only successful if people can take possession of it. So that is all about creating collectivity and a sense of belonging while paying attention to the context. ‘In essence, building is about creating living conditions for people,’ she says. High-rise is becoming more and more attractive to accommodate the rising demand for additional homes in The Netherlands. As a typology, it faces particular challenges. Mixed programming of the plinth zones, good connection to public spaces, and integrating green on the street and building level are critical aspects of building high. It has to be combined with creating common areas and facilities, places where residents can meet and do things together. Several projects of KCAP serve as examples, one of them HS Kwartier The Hague, where the office is involved as urban designer and architect, including the transformation of the Stationspostgebouw into PostNL Headquarter. Furthermore, the transformation of the area around station Hollands Spoor, that KCAP is working on in cooperation with developers SENS and LIFE grants another crucial aspect for urban densification through high-rise: good accessibility and proximity to public transport hubs. As Irma van Oort says: "A building design never stands alone but reflects its surroundings. For us, this integral approach to building and its environment is an important part of the transition to a sustainable, future-proof city." Please find here the full interview in Dutch.   Photography: Carence Korzelius  

In the last twelve years, Europaallee the station area of Zürich has undergone an urban transformation from an isolated site into a lively city district. KCAP is responsible for the urban design of the redevelopment that is completed.The article published in Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung provides news insights into the project in talks with Kees Christiaanse of KCAP and Andreas Steiger, project manager of SBB CFF FFS (Swiss Federal Railways). Both explain the complexity of urban planning in a city's central district, with dynamic necessities, historical changes and how much patience you need as an urban planner.You can login for free and read the full article (DE) here. Photograph by Lucas Peters

Europaallee, based on KCAP's urban design work, is a new district right next to Zurich's central railway station. All started in 2003 thanks to Swiss railway operator SBB who regularly develops near railway stations, as places being close to the centre to stop urban sprawl thanks to densification. The construction works in Europaallee officially finished in 2020; several weeks ago the new pedestrian bridge Negrellisteg opened to the public. Now we celebrate the launch of the book "Europaallee: Gemisch, Gefüge, 76 Ginkgos"(Europaallee: Mixture, Structure, 76 Ginkgos), edited by Park Books. The publication illuminates the genesis of the recent city quarter. As Kees Christiaanse, founder of KCAP, explains in the dedicated chapter, talking with SBB chief project leader Andreas Steiger: "Urban design in the case of Europaallee is not based on a predefined programme with fixed positions, but on the recognition that functions in a neighbourhood change over time." The book describes the development and the completed work of Europaallee. Text contributions by experts from various disciplines, newly taken photographs and new plans drawn exclusively for the book combine to form a history of the creation of the new station precinct in the city of Zurich. Architects involved: Max Dudler Architects, Stücheli Architects, Gigon/Guyer, David Chipperfield Architects, Wiel Arets Architects, Caruso St John Architects, Bosshard Vaquer Architects, Boltshauser Architects, Graber Pulver Architects, Masswerk Architects, E2A Architects, Basler & Hofmann. Credits: "Gemisch, Gefüge, 76 Ginkgos: Europaallee Zürich", Park Books, Zürich 2021; photo by Corina Flühmann      

Irma van Oort, partner, and architect at KCAP, has been published in “Hoogbouw in Nederland 2020”, a publication dedicated to high-rise buildings in the Netherlands 2020, edited by Stichting Hoogbouw, the Dutch High-rise Foundation. More than ever, high-rise buildings are gaining importance. The rising demand for urban living is forcing urban planners and architects to think creatively about our inner cities' densification. That is where it comes to residential high-rise buildings. That solution brings new challenges for municipalities and planners alike because it is about height and density and the conditions at street levels, such as heat stress, sunspots, and compensatory greenery. These conditions are essential to foster the sustainability and healthy growth of our cities. In this context, Irma van Oort presents the project KCAP is working on in The Hague, in the Laakhaven area. Near the Holland Spoor, or HS Kwartier, she leads the transformation of the national monument, and KCAP is building two towers next to the ROC Mondiaan . Until recently, Laakhavens was the back end of the city, focused on Harbour industry and infrastructure. Thanks to KCAP's flexible approach to the design process together with the municipality and current owners and users of the HS Quarter it has been developed an integral area vision to maximise the potential of this strategic location within the high-rise vision of the city: the eyeline skyline With the new design and a balanced program concept offering a mix of living, working, commercial and social facilities, the area will become a new place-to-be. Its excellent accessibility by public transport and the proximity of the Haagse Hogeschool make it an attractive location for knowledge-related and innovative activities, such as start-ups, as well as for student housing. The Waldorp street will be a green area, an urban destination instead of a car-crowded road to cross the city. Irma ...

KCAP and Orange Architects are working in a consortium with A.Len Architectural Bureau in St. Petersburg, Russia, to transform a former railway yard on Ligovsky Prospekt into a new residential district with communal facilities, retail and extensive greenery. Linear parks and landscaped boulevards that follow the historical railway tracks are at the origin of the new urban framework and will offer the backdrop for a high quality living environment, where the buildings are characterized by industrial aesthetics. KCAP+ORANGE Architects in consortium with A.Len Architectural Bureau prepared a proposal for the territory planning of the former Tovarno-Vitebskaya railway yard in the south-eastern part of the grey belt of St. Petersburg. This project is a continuation of the Glorax Development's Ligovsky City neighborhood development project, where the first residential complex is already in operation while the second one is nearing completion. The area under consideration, 30 hectares, is well connected to city. In the North, in close proximity to the site, is planned to build a metro station "Borovaya". The global goal of the project is to create a new attractive residential district of St. Petersburg, designed for 8600 people, with its own commercial and social infrastructure. The plans include restaurants, cafes, leisure facilities, street retail, service companies, sports facilities, four kindergartens, one primary and one secondary school, underground and surface parking lots. The Chairman of the City Planning Council, V. Grigoriev, defined the project as a positive example of resuming international design in the city: “The participation of renowned architects from all over the world has always contributed to the development of St. Petersburg.” The carefully planned intervention is an adaptive re-use that promotes new urban life, based on a mix of historical and modern structures and on the contrast between large and small scale solutions. The industrial morphology of the area, with the rails ...

A nice collection of books by Kees Christiaanse recently released by NAI010 publishers: 'Textbook spans 30 years of the well-known urban designer and architect Kees Christiaanse’s thinking about cities. The collected texts range from charting the influence of the bicycle on his thinking about future mobility to the examination of dominant concepts and projects in the contemporary built environment. Illustrations of Christiaanse’s sketches, personal notebook pages and watercolours complement this unique collection.' The Potato Plan Collection celebrates Patrick Abercrombie’s famous 'Potato Plan' and reveals its potential as an analytical tool for contemporary urban territories. The Potato Plan Collection gathers together 40 specific ‘Potato Plans’ from various metropolises all over the globe that were drawn and interpreted by local architects, urban designers and schools of architecture.' Previously released: With The Noise Landscape, a Spatial Exploration of Landscapes and Cities a research of several years by the chair of Kees Christiaanse at the ETH Zurich is published. The expansive areas around large airports, affected by noise, infrastructure, and transient forms of architecture, have until now not been researched as a phenomenon. But these noise landscapes are emerging worldwide, often surpassing the neighbouring city in size, and sometimes rivalling it in economic importance. On the basis of eight European case studies (Amsterdam, Zurich, London-Heathrow, Frankfurt, Munich, Madrid and the two Paris airports) this book provides the first account of how these landscapes emerged as the result of technical determinations, what is taking place in them, and how they can be interpreted. A State Beyond a State by Ting Chen is the first comprehensive interpretation of Chinese urban transformation through the lens of state-owned enterprises. Supported by numerous interviews and primary data, this book points out the threats posed by typical large-scale projects of single SOEs (Stateowned enterprises), and further shows alternative development potentials that match the long-term socioeconomic ...

KCAP's De Opgang, comprising of a program of 79 apartments, a church and daycare facilities, is one of eight projects selected for publication 'Complex Housing' (Routledge, USA), which introduces an architectural type called complex housing, common to the Netherlands and found in other Northern European countries. It is one of eight fully illustrated case studies that show successful approaches to designing for density, which reflect values such as long-term planning, a right to housing, and access to light and air. The case studies demonstrate a wide range of applications including a mixture of urban and suburban sites, various numbers of dwelling units, low- to high-density approaches, different architectural styles, and organizational strategies that can be adopted in projects elsewhere. De Opgang was also one of the projects presented at the symposium “Complexity: Dutch and American Housing” that explored the similarities and differences between the way housing is designed, developed, and constructed in the Netherlands and in the United States, as a way to create new practices. Extending from the book Complex Housing: Designing for Density and accompanying the exhibition Dutch Complex Housing, the symposium at the University of Minnesota brought 12-13 presenters from the Netherlands, including architects, developers, residents, urban planners, and politicians to engage in discussions about best housing practices. The conference addressed such questions as how to build equitable housing that: 1) incorporates mixed-income households, 2) includes rental and purchase opportunities, 3) is financed in new ways, and 4) is architecturally innovative and diverse? Han van den Born, architect, Henk-Jan Hollander, developer and former alderman of Amsterdam Duco Stadig, all involved in the project De Opgang, jointly presented the project at the symposium.        

"The Noise Landscape“ by Kees Christiaanse, Benedikt Boucsein, Eirini Kasioumi and Christian Salewski, has just been released with nai010 publishers. Through extensive documentation, maps and infographics, the book investigates the noise-affected areas around eight major European airports: Amsterdam, Zurich, London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Munich, Madrid, Paris Orly and Paris Charles de Gaulle. More information about the book and how to order it: www.thenoiselandscape.com International Symposium at the Landscape Triennial 2017 Author Kees Christiaanse will act as a keynote speaker during this international symposium at the Landscape Triennial 2017 on September 8th. He will elaborate on the Haarlemmermeer situation where urbanisation, air traffic and landscape are closely intertwined. Worldwide urban regions experience the pressure of urbanisation, climate change and intensive agriculture on their landscape. Simultaneously, regions start to acknowledge the importance of a vital and attractive landscape as a key success factor in the global battle for talent. The question is how to combine these increasing sustainability transitions with internal metropolitan demands, without loss of existing landscape qualities.   

The compact city as the solution for urban growth? At best, this can only be part of the solution, say Kees Christiaanse and BPD CEO Walter de Boer. Both believe there should be more consideration for the densely populated areas between cities. And more centralised management. 'If design isn't properly managed, urbanisation will get out of hand.' Kees Christiaanse and Walter de Boer in a double interview in the most recent bpd magazine. [[file:bpd5]]

Yesterday, the design of The Spot design was presented. On the spot itself, in Amersfoort. Through VR glasses, visitors could preview the design in 360 degrees, as if the building was already there. A lot of positive responses were given about the design, but also about developer Kees van Loon of Profund Vastgoedontwikkeling daring to present an ambitious and high quality proposal on such an important location in Amersfoort.  The five opinions on The Spot are published in daily paper AD.

KCAP and Profund Vastgoedontwikkeling present next week the design for ‘The Spot’ in Amersfoort; an uitspoken design with 40 luxury apartments and commercial spaces. The Dutch paper AD interviews developer Kees van Loon and KCAP project architect Renske van der Stoep and partner Ruurd Gietema about the development. Click here for the article (in Dutch).  

An urban planner travels a lot! In his essay, published in the current issue of the German TOPOS magazine, Kees Christiaanse takes the reader on a journey through Europe by train. He talks about his observations of the changing mobility-system and what impact this has on urbanisation, infrastructure, architecture and the landscape.

In the Dutch AD Newspaper, which has a focus on Rotterdam, a large interview with Ruurd Gietema has been published. Forecasts say Rotterdam will experience a 10% growth in the coming 14 years; which means  an increase of 60.000 people. In the article, Ruurd gives his opinion on the opportunities for urban development the city has to offer. Click here to read the full article (in Dutch).  

The Dutch architecture monthly launches a new online magazine: De Architect Business. Check out the interview with Irma van Oort about KCAP's experiences with participating as architect at the German real estate fair Expo Real.    

Kees Christiaanse interviewed in Vastgoedmarkt about urban planning in Rotterdam. He calls for urban densification of the center, a better distribution of city functions between the center and Kop van Zuid and reconciliation of the city with the harbour by adding residential functions. [[file:vgm1604]]  

Bao'an Water City Shenzhen by KCAP in cooperation with LAY-OUT and Atelier Dreiseitl published in current World Landscape Architecture magazine WLA24.

Ruurd Gietema in interview about the transformation of The Hague's Binckhorst area in the recent issue of Gebiedsontwikkeling in Beweging.  

Last year in March, KCAP urban planner Hyeri Park was one of the co-organisors of the 'Beyond Big Plans. Let's reinvent planning' symposium in Seoul. The international symposium with workshops and exhibition attracted various European experts. Also KCAP participated in various ways: Kees Christiaanse gave a lecture, Jeroen Dirckx moderated one of the workshops in the program and Ya-Hsin Chen was workshop participant and sub-curator of the exhibition. The book ‘Beyond Seunsangga- 16 ideas to go beyond big plans’, recently released in Korea, is based on the event of 2015 and contains contributions of Kees Christiaanse with Yoo Na Ho, Jeroen Dirckx and Hyeri Park.  Tomorrow, the book will be presented and discussed with various authors: Zef Hemel, Michiel Boesveld, Jeroen Dirckx, Joonwoo Kim and Vitnarea Kang. Dr. Lei Qu (TU Delft) will moderate the debate on alternatives to large-scale urban redevelopment, Joonwoo Kim and Hyeri Park will be the presentators. The discussion will provide insights into diverse paths faced by advanced Asian cities in the post fast-growth era, especially with the case of Seunsangga area in the midst of Seoul. *place: Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam *Time: 18:30 ~ 20:30, doors open at 18:00, program starts at 18:30 *admission: free but reservation required

View via the link below the documentary about our team OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen - KCAP and our design for the VRT broadcast centre in Brussels. Our team was one of the finalists in the internationals design competition. Click here to view the documentary on Canvas.    

Recently released: the December-January edition of the Dutch architecture monthly de Architect with an interview with Kees Christiaanse. He talks about shifts in how we work, changing work fields and ambitions for the future. "Combine a social approach with urban developments and create reconciliation". [[file:dearch1512]]

Kees Christiaanse in interview with Dutch landscape magazine Blauwe Kamer about building and development in Zwitserland and the Netherlands.[[file:blauwekamer1510]]

Last year Kees Christiaanse contributed in the 4th workshop organised by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) with a lecture about the Schiphol airport region. The aim was to discuss the city of Barcelona within the European urban system. As a follow-up to this workshop, volume 6 in AMB’s book series ‘Quaderns PDU metropolità’ was published, in which Kees Christiaanse’s study of Schiphol was included. The study involves a thorough analysis of the airport region and tries to answer the questions how to define such regions and how to improve them. Kees Christiaanse concludes his paper  with 9 useful concepts to develop good airport regions all over the world.You are invited to read his essay and the other papers on this site.The AMB is the public administration of the metropolitan area of Barcelona; a large urban conurbation consisting of 36 municipalities. The lecture and case study are part of their mission to draft an Urbanistic Metroplolitan Plan (PDU) using scientific research and reflection.  

Scheveningen is regaining popularity. The Dutch daily Telegraaf states today 5 reasons to visit the biggest sea resort of Nort-West Europe and gives 5 perspectives for 2020. KCAP's urban plan for the redevelopment of the Northern pier plays an important role in the image upgrade. Click here for the online version of the article (in Dutch).

This publication is based on the celebration of the 25th anniversary of KCAP Architects&Planners on December 12th, 2014 in the Red Apple in Rotterdam. Enjoy reading (in Dutch) online. [[file:25jaar]]  

Recently, the Korean TV Channel A made documentary in 4 parts about redevelopment of harbour cities. Amsterdam is one of 4 cities they documented with various interviews and site visits. Kees Christiaanse was interviewed about KCAP's project Oostelijke Handelskade Amsterdam. This 3rd of 4 total documentaries is now online on YouTube.

Today in Swiss free Migros Magazin: interview with Kees about urban planning in Switzerland.

The book 'Die Stadt als Ressource' offers insights into the teaching at the Chair of Kees Christiaanse at ETH Zurich and provides new ideas for the discourse on sustainable urban plannning. The launch will be accompanied by discussions with Kees Christiaanse, Florian Dreher (Free publicist), Angelus Eisinger (RZU), Nicolas Kretschmann (BASK Architektur Städtebau/University of Munich), Tim Rieniets (StadtBauKultur NRW).Location: Gasometerstrasse 28, 8005 Zürich Click here for more information.

Kees Christiaanse about 'Taming Tall Buildings' Autistic Tendencies' in an interview in the journal of the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). [[file:ctbuh]]

KCAP celebrated its 25th anniversary on December 12th in the Red Apple in Rotterdam. The celebration started with three speeches, one of which by Kees Christiaanse - a great statement about 25 years KCAP and the practice of architects during time. De Architect now published Kees' speech in the recent February issue.  

Today, a short report about KCAP 25 years is published by De Architect.

In late December the Dutch monthly Stedenbouw & Architectuur released in its issue about renovation and transformation an interview with Kees Christiaanse: 'The sensible quality of of waterfonts'. [[file:sena147]]

KEES CHRISTIAANSE: 'Architecture is the translation of a program into material form.'Click here to view the interview.

The edition 01/12 of FOLIO, the magazine of the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), analyses the tendencies of urban agglomerations in Switzerland and the quality of those developments. Kees Christiaanse is one of the interviewed experts. Click here for the online article (in German).