I amsterdam - Urban Development Projects
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Urban Development Projects
Amsterdam’s living, working and transport infrastructures are being given a complete overhaul. Some of these major projects are already under way, others will begin soon.
The Big Seven
Amsterdam is being given a new face. But not a new heart. The old city centre with its picturesque scenery and thousands of historic buildings will continue to be looked after with the greatest care. Most of the changes over the next few will affect the post-war suburbs. A metro line under the River IJ, connecting the north and south of the city. A whole new residential district on artificial islands. New commercial hubs in south-east Amsterdam and on the southern ring road. New uses for the waterfront on both sides of the river. An expanded and redesigned transport hub around Centraal Station. Regeneration of the western suburbs…
Amsterdam Nieuw West
Amsterdam’s “New West”, also known as the “western garden suburbs” (Westelijk Tuinsteden), was the first major residential area to be built after the Second World War. Now it is the location for one of the biggest urban renewal operations ever carried out in the Netherlands. The changes are very broad in scope: social, economic and environmental. Private homes and public spaces are being upgraded. Social regeneration is creating new opportunities for people disadvantaged by their level of education and income. Local facilities are being brought up to modern standards. And the housing stock is being refreshed.
The Westelijk Tuinsteden contains more than 54,000 homes, the vast majority of them owned by housing corporations.
The plans involve creating a greater variety of housing. Some 13,000 homes are being demolished, but 14,500 new ones will replace them. Many of them will be for owner-occupation. To bring home and work closer together, more than 350,000 square metres of office and business space are planned as well.
More facilities, and not just retail premises, are being added to the shopping centre on Osdorpplein to make it the beating heart of Nieuw West. Once the operation is complete, the area will have 20 per cent more homes and a much wider range of businesses. The true quality of the original garden suburbs lies in their open, “green” aspect. This regeneration builds upon that, with green open spaces a major element throughout.
ArenA Boulevard in Amsterdam Zuidoost
Together with the historic city centre and the Zuidas district, ArenA Boulevard in south-east Amsterdam (Zuidoost borough) is one of three districts designated as so-called “city cores”. These define the city’s image as an international cultural, economic and tourist centre. The ArenA area is currently undergoing major development work.
The construction of the Amsterdam ArenA stadium, home of Ajax Football Club, has changed the local skyline forever. Around it has sprung up a new urban centre which is set to become the city’s second leisure hub. On ArenA Boulevard you can work, shop, live and entertain yourself. The Pathé ArenA multiplex cinema, the HeinekenMusic Hall, the Pepsi Stage, a range of megastores, specialist homes and interiors shopping centre Villa ArenA and a variety of cafés and restaurant attract visitors from far and wide.
New office blocks have been built and two major educational institutions, HES and ROC, have brought thousands of students into the area. Construction of its first homes has just begun. Also on the way are hotel and conference facilities, plus two high-rise blocks containing both homes and offices.
Retail and leisure centre GETZ is due to open its doors in 2009, on the site of the present temporary Pepsi Stage theatre. Centring on four themes – music, dance, sport and entertainment – GETZ will combine culture, shopping, a nightclub, a casino, a hotel, cafés, restaurants, entertainment, flats and parking under one roof. A so-called “music dome” would also fit perfectly into the overall vision for the area. Called “The Capital of Music and Dance”, plans for this are still being developed.
The entire “city core” stretches from Anton de Komplein, through the Amsterdamse Poort shopping centre to Villa ArenA. New borough offices, a sports hall and a cultural venue are being built on Anton de Komplein. Between the Amsterdamse Poort and ArenA Boulevard, the new Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA railway, metro and bus station is already under construction. From 2007 this will be one of the major public-transport interchanges in the region, with “inter-city” station status and a direct rail services to and from SchipholAirport.
Urban Regeneration in Bijlmermeer
A second major urban regeneration operation outside the city centre is in Bijlmermeer, in the south-east of the city. Originally built in accordance with the “functional city” principles of Swiss architect Le Corbusier and completed in 1975, Bijlmermeer never lived up to the hopes of its designers. There was not enough interest in the 13,000 high-rise flats with their long walking distances and remote facilities. Dereliction, squatting, drug nuisance and management problems have resulted in a decision to demolish more than half of the high-rise blocks and replace them with low-rises and houses, for owner-occupiers as well as the social rented sector.
The remaining high-rise blocks are being completely renovated. The first new neighbourhoods have now been finished on Bijlmerdreef, and on Karspeldreef renovation work is under way. The housing density in Bijlmermeer is to increase, with 110 new homes being built for every 100 demolished. There will also be more local facilities. The new Bijlmermeer is expected to be more in tune with the nearby “city core” being developed around the Amsterdam ArenA.
Amsterdam-Noord
There is a lot happening in Amsterdam-Noord, the north of the city.
First of all, the city centre itself is finally crossing the River IJ with the planned redevelopment of the former Shell complex and, later, the Buiksloterham area. The regeneration of this sunny northern bank of IJ mirrors the changes under way on the other of the water, and will bring the traditionally isolated north closer to the rest of the city.
As well 2200 new homes and 140,000 square metres of offices and other business premises – including Shell’s own New Technology Centre – other facilities set to move here include the NetherlandsFilmMuseum. A start has already been made on its new home.
Meanwhile, the Buiksloterham industrial estate will change gradually into a mixed housing and business area, but without losing much of its current bustle. At the adjacent NDSM shipyard, culture will be an important part of the mix alongside housing and work.
An attractive urban centre is planned around the new metro station on Buikslotermeerplein. Called Centrum Amsterdam Noord, this will feature offices, some 3300 homes, a theatre and a cinema. Other projects which are going to change the face of north Amsterdam are a new park, residential area De Bongerd with about 1600 homes and the urban regeneration zones in Banne and Nieuwendam-Noord.
www.noordwaarts.nl and www.noord.amsterdam.nl.
IJburg
The demand for housing in Amsterdam has always been high, and remains so. Because of a former lack of large, new locations for residential property available within the city boundaries, the Amsterdam City Council voted in 1996 to build on a series of eight artificial islands in the IJmeer. Two of these, Haveneiland and Steigereiland, are now occupied. Construction of all 18,000 homes in this new district, IJburg, will be completed around 2015. IJburg will then be home to a total of about 45,000 people and be will bring 12,000 jobs into the area. IJburg has been planned as a self-contained district with its own shops, offices and schools.
The housing in IJburg is very varied, including low-rise blocks of flats and terraced and detached houses. All sectors are catered for - from social rentals to mid-priced housing the higher-priced, owner-occupied dwellings.
From spring 2005, IJburg and the Zeeburgereiland district will have a high-speed tram link to the city centre. This so-called "IJ Tram" will run to Centraal Station and take about 18 minutes. The service will operate every five minutes in peak hours and every 10-15 minutes at other times.
Amsterdam Science Park
AmsterdamSciencePark is already well-known as a centre of knowledge. It is home to the University of Amsterdam’s Faculty of Science, to internationally renowned research organisations such as the National Institute for Nuclear Physics and High Energy Physics, the Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics and the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science, and to SARA Computing and Networking Services. More than 70 knowledge-intensive businesses are also based there.
The City of Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) have plans to develop the SciencePark over the next decade into an international centre of knowledge, a place where scientific education, research and business are encouraged to work together. This ambition is achievable thanks to the presence of a world-class infrastructure and high-quality computer and network services. For example, the park is the site of the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), one of the most powerful internet hubs in the world.
The whole area stimulates inspirational collaboration and the sharing of knowledge. When finished, it will provide 500,000 square metres of office space, laboratories and educational facilities, plus a hotel, conference centre, sports and cultural provision, hundreds of homes, childcare facilities and its own railway station. It really will live up to its slogan, “A world of science in a city of inspiration”. A place where cutting-edge education, research and enterprise meet knowledge, talent and ideas. A urban landscape in which buildings, scenery and open space are closely intertwined.
http://www.scienceparkamsterdam.org
Zuidas
Around Amsterdam Zuid/WTC station, on the southern edge of the city, a new and contemporary urban centre is emerging: the Zuidas, or “southern axis”. This has already proven itself as a top office location. The landmark headquarters of banking group ABN-AMRO opened there back in the late 1990s. The World Trade Centre was totally refurbished and expanded in 2002. And financial group ING has its new head office at the western end of the development zone.
The Zuidas is being developed as a “city hub” with a balance of housing and workplaces. The aim is to achieve a mix of 45 per cent homes and 45 per cent work, with the other 10 per cent devoted to other facilities: shops, cafés, restaurants, sports and culture.
The area is in a strategic location between the city centre and SchipholAirport. Zuid/WTC has been designated as Amsterdam’s station on the new high-speed rail links with both France and Germany. It also offers excellent access by normal train, metro, bus and car.
About 300,000 square metres of office space have already been completed. Some 220,000 square metres are under construction, with a further 300,000 square metres planned. The City of Amsterdam and the national government reached agreement in February 2005 on the so-called “dock model”, under which the local transport infrastructure will be moved underground. Once the ring road, metro and railway have been buried in a 1200-metre tunnel, they can be built over to create another million or so square metres of office, living and other space. About 50,000 people will eventually work in the Zuidas and 14,000 will live there.
South bank of the IJ
Amsterdam owes its existence to the River IJ. But the city’s link with the water was cut in the 19th century when Centraal Station was built. With the transformation of the islands in the eastern port (Oostelijke Havengebied) into residential areas, an important step has already been taken towards reuniting the city and the river. That process will be complete once the whole south bank of the IJ (Zuidelijke IJoever) on both of sides of Centraal Station has been redeveloped.
Many ports fell into decline during the 1960s and 1970s, and Amsterdam was no exception. As a result, the eastern port and south bank of the IJ were largely abandoned. But now the process has been reversed. More than 8000 homes have been completed in the eastern port, and much has already been done on the chain of islands facing the river as well.
As they are redeveloped, each island is being given its own character and feel. Many buildings are already in use: the educational science museum NEMO, the Amsterdam Passenger Terminal, the Amsterdam and Oud Wilhelmina warehouse conversions, the Arcam Architecture Pavilion, the Silodam housing development and the Muziekgebouw concert hall on Oostelijke Handelskade. Buildings under construction include the new public library on Oosterdokseiland and a range of homes and business premises. The entire plan is due to be completed in about 2012.
In all, more than 2500 homes, 330,000 square metres of office and commercial premises, 105,000 square metres of cultural and social facilities and 130,000 square metres of hospitality and retail space are being built along the river. New infrastructure will significantly improve access to the area by car, public transport and boat.
With the development of the south bank of River IJ, Amsterdam has rediscovered its place on the water once and for all.
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