Congratulations on reaching the highest point in the construction of Kop Dakpark at the entrance of Rotterdam-West.

As Europan Netherlands, we are exceptionally proud that the vision for this location—originally developed within Europan 15 under the theme Productive Cities—is now evolving into a tangible and future-oriented project. What began as a bold, award-winning competition entry by the Spanish architectural firm H3O Architects is now taking actual shape, thanks to the expert collaboration with INBO, Woonstad Rotterdam, Dijk&co Landschapsarchitectuur, and Slokker Bouwgroep.

Nature-inclusive living in a green oasis

This outstanding apartment complex with 153 affordable homes serves as a prominent green icon at the head of the Dakpark. Together, INBO and h3o Architects have seamlessly translated the Europan philosophy into a residential building that actively contributes to local biodiversity and the surrounding flora and fauna.

Serving as the missing link between a vibrant residential neighborhood and an upcoming makers district, the project successfully bridges the gap between urban living and nature. It perfectly delivers on the original Europan challenge: creating an intergenerational, highly productive, and nature-inclusive urban environment that functions as a catalyst for social cohesion.

From competition idea to built reality, this project is the ultimate proof of how innovative architecture, biodiversity, and social impact go hand in hand. It proves that Europan goes far beyond a mere contest of concepts, serving as a powerful catalyst that turns challenging vacant urban spaces into active, practical answers for both housing shortages and environmental sustainability. In doing so, Kop Dakpark highlights the unique, transformative power of the Europan program.

We wish all parties involved the best of luck with the further realization of this extraordinary project, and we look forward to the completion and future of Kop Dakpark!

E15 – Productive Rotterdam 08/12/2022

The Europan15 NL publication is available now!

It’s the continuing story of the Europan 15 NL competition in Rotterdam that kicked off in 2019. The housing crisis, the climate crisis and the increasing unaffordability of urban centres were on the agendas of all major European cities. The competition’s theme, the Productive City, sought to address these problems.

After a 2 year’s period of Covid 19 pandemic this publication presents a story that is both catalogue of the projects as they were when they were submitted in 2019, and a reflection on the continuing process in Rotterdam. We noticed that during the pandemic cities were suddenly used in a fundamentally different way, but among the entries for Europan15 proved remarkably timely for their agile and human-oriented approach. All insights have been collected in this publication which reads as a guideline for a new holistic way of making city.

More information on the winners, runners-up & special mentions via www.e15rotterdam.nl

Partners: AIR, Architectuur Instituut Rotterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam, AM Gebiedsontwikkeling, Dudok Real Estate, Heijmans, BPD Gebiedsontwikkeling, Woonstad Rotterdam
Publication: graphic design Loes Sikkes visualcommunication | editors Martine Zoeteman, Jessica Cullen, Marieke Berkers | photography Frank Hanswijk | event photgraphy Fred Ernst | inside cover Kunstenvliegwerkluchtfoto | printed by Veenman+

The publication is available for free via the naibooksellers shop at Het Nieuwe Instituut, drop by or order your copy!

Interview with Gerben In ‘t Hout and Kay Schellen from Woonstad, affiliate of Europan NL 15.

The five Dutch sites selected for Europan’s 2019 design competition are all located in Rotterdam. Each one presents unique challenges, and has stakeholders dedicated to its development. While six private parties have been involved in the competition working alongside creative teams to bring their solutions to life, so has one of Rotterdam’s most celebrated social housing corporations, Woonstad, in an affiliated role. AIR interviews Kay Schellen, Director of Portefeuillemanagement  Management, and Gerben In ’t Hout, Asset Manager, to understand their thoughts on the site development potential proposed by winning teams, and how these benefit the city, and improve the availability of both attractive, and affordable, housing stock.

Building high quality homes for social rent is quite a challenging business case, because of money of course, and the low benefits, or return on financial investment. Making beautiful things is a challenge, and the Europan competition gives young architects a chance to develop this skill alongside influential partners. Woonstad undertakes many projects every year, and for many of these – like Margrietflat – we engage the services of young bureaus, both to give them an opportunity to develop their work, and to bring new life to the city. 

In ‘t Hout: The Europan competition allows for free thinking, speculation and maximum creativity on the one hand, as well as carefully chosen real assignments on real sites. The winning proposals produced highly rationalized design concepts and offered real insights on the sites we’re interested in.

How do you see Woonstad’s role in the competition, as a housing corporation in search of high quality social housing, in a city such as Rotterdam? 

Schellen: Woonstad is a housing corporation based in Rotterdam, and we only build for Rotterdam, for social groups in this city. So, we’re obviously very focused on Rotterdam. What we see is that there are increasingly fewer and fewer social housing units, and in spite of many new developments, there will be fewer in future. In our role, we aim to produce enough different kinds of housing stock, to enable access to high quality housing for individuals and families in the city that have less opportunities. There are many challenges in accomplishing this in Rotterdam, as it is now, and many risks if this goal is not met. The Europan competition process allows us to think freely and to discover new perspectives on sites and in areas we’re already working on, like Kop Dakpark and Merwevierhavens (M4H). 

Understanding that Woonstad might be part of the development of social housing on Kop Dakpark, what have you learned from winning proposals and what could be valuable to apply in the approach to this development? 

In ‘t Hout: Kop Dakpark’s a difficult and interesting location, immediately in front of the traffic square, and sitting between two completely different areas (Bospolder Tussendijken (BoTu) and M4H). The challenge is combining these two areas and inserting social housing, as well as an iconic form. We’re very interested in this spot and the winning Europan team – office H30 from Barcelona – has made a very interesting design, with a compelling green infrastructure. We also see some good ideas in the other plans, and when we are allowed to, hope to generate an integrated response. 

Schellen: We’re particularly interested in Kop Dakpark’s position between a diverse existing neighbourhood BoTu and the new development of M4H, and making a connection between the two. It’s very important to make a connection. It’s not so difficult to design a building, but it’s difficult to design a connection. The winning proposal does this very well by continuing the park, both on the ground floor as in the building itself.  

In ‘t Hout: M4H has to grow, and foster new development. There is of course a lot already happening, but also a lot still to happen. By bringing in the right qualities, you make more than a connection between the two sites, more than a bridge. The development of Kop Dakpark could be exemplary for the level of ambition in the larger area surrounding it.  

Understanding that Woonstad might also develop social housing in M4H, what surprising new insights have you gained from the selected Europan proposals Makers’ Maze or Platform of Commons? 

Schellen: In other projects, we’ve observed that it’s key to understand when the right moment is to bring social housing in an area in transition. In the case of M4H, it’s interesting and inspiring now, but not ready yet for housing. Kop Dakpark and M4H are no longer the “end of the city” of Rotterdam. They’re something in between. It is not clear yet how and when Woonstad will actually get involved in the development of M4H, but a phased development of a series of smaller mixed-use ‘neighborhoods’ as presented by the winning team in their proposal Makers’ Maze, seems an interesting approach.    

Photo: Fred Ernst, Gerben In’t Hout kneeling to evaluate Europan submissions.

Woonstad is working alongside Europan winners to bring projects closer to realisation 

Gerben, you’ve been particularly involved in the competition so far, can you comment on your experience with the Europan process, given the fact that you’ve taken part in almost all sessions AIR and Europan have organised, and were involved in the technical committee? 

In ‘t Hout: We’re normally just building houses, but with the Europan process we’ve been working with people from other organisations. There’s really an inspiring network of people gathered around the competition. The sessions with these other partners including the City of Rotterdam, the technical committee, with the jury members, and with the winning teams have been very insightful in terms of conversations about what kind of city is being, or should be created. I’ve seen fresh ideas, new thoughts on the city of Rotterdam, and have seen new perspectives on the locations. 

Edward van Dongen (from ERA Contour, one of the E15 partners) mentioned that he was surprised by the broad scope of young architects now approaching the design assignments, specifically that the young architectural teams seem to be able to address spatial and socioeconomic issues simultaneously. What did Woonstad learn about the next generation of young architects through Europan? 

Schellen: The young architecture offices approach the design assignment from a different and often surprising angle. For example, they perceive the concept of icon differently. The winners  see Kop Dakpark as a green, climate-adaptive icon in a busy place in the city, with a building that has a second green shell.

Are there any specific lessons that Woonstad has learned in general from this experience?

Schellen: It’s quite exciting for us to work with young architects from all over Europe who have taken this opportunity to express themselves in this competition, and put forward new statements about new perspectives on city development.

What do you hope that Europan brings to Rotterdam?

In ‘t Hout: I hope that Europan brings some new perspectives and ideas to the city as it develops over the next 20 years, some fresh new views.

Schellen: I hope that it provides some inspiration for both architects and for the other parties involved, and when we come to realizing projects, I hope that these will really be something else, some beautiful buildings that look adventurous, and are beautiful now and in the future, but also offer affordable high quality spaces to live. We’re positive we will have some nice results that serve occupants and the people of Rotterdam. 

In ‘t Hout: We hope that some plans will be realised and come to be, some are quite abstract, but they present a real chance to make a better community. The next step will be challenging in terms of coming back to reality, without losing the charm and uniqueness of the original ideas.

Schellen: We’re kind of an atypical party, as a housing corporation, and occupy a special position in the competition. The insight we offer concern different qualities that are of value, for our customers, and for the communities. So, we hope this is an opportunity to ensure this. This is our chief objective

Continuation of the interview with jury members, Jacob van Rijs, Beatriz Ramo, and Like Bijlsma Europan15 NL publication is available now!

European ideas competition Europan 15 has a twofold target. On the one hand, Europan gives young design talent the opportunity to turn ideas into realistic projects. On the other hand, Europan offers cities the opportunity to gather fresh, innovative approaches to local challenges. But are the two targets really compatible? Won’t too much emphasis on realization kill the innovative impulse? We asked Europan 15’s three jury members: Like Bijlsma, Beatriz Ramo and Jacob van Rijs.

This is the third time architect Beatriz Ramo is on the Europan jury. She has noticed that competitors are taking fewer and fewer risks over the years. Ramo: ‘Young offices no longer participate in ideas competitions like Europan as a matter of course. This generation prefers to make plans they can actually realize. A pity, for pragmatic plans alone will not stimulate clients and municipalities to think innovatively, they’ll maintain a culture of risk-free development. What we need is plans that stimulate reflection on life in the city. Ideally, Europan entries provide food for thought. If that is not the aim, why set up the whole Europan circus? Architect and geographer Like Bijlsma agrees that the strength of Europan is in the exploratory character of the entries. Bijlsma: ‘Designers have to make sure that they do not become an extension of the planning and development level. They have to be able to weigh policy critically, first, and to look at ways to make innovative ideas more pragmatic, second.’

To achieve the best possible collaboration with the client, Europan NL focused its fifteenth edition on a single city, Rotterdam. The City of Rotterdam played a major part in the co-defining of the framework for the competition. The themes of the Omgevingswet (Environmental Act) are the starting point. Did this give designers too little freedom? Did this method push entrants in a specific solution direction? Bijlsma nods: ‘All challenges focus on densification, which was a prerequisite. While you may well wonder whether densification is the most logical choice in all of the Europan locations. The entrants could not call densification into question. This has resulted in entries that contain few original arguments and critical notes with regard to the choices included in the challenge. But designers need space to prevaricate and ponder.

Photo: Fred Ernst

Architect Jacob van Rijs also sees the advantages of defining challenges on the basis of current policy. Van Rijs: ‘Europan is a catalyst for a different approach to making city. Using the themes from the Omgevingsvisie (Environmental Vision), you hand the city ideas that it can really implement in the future. The municipality can use the entries to take strategic steps in its thinking on the future development of the city. The themes pointed the designers in a certain direction. It was up to them to innovatively develop them.’ According to Van Rijs, the strength of Europan lies in the fact that young designers are noticed by prospective clients. He speaks from his own experience, he also participated in Europan and won. Van Rijs: ‘Europan is a helping hand. Participating helped me to take the step to continue independently and to build a network. It’s not entirely realistic to expect a young team to meet such a substantive challenge. But winning can bring other things as well. Carrying out studies for the municipality. For smaller places, an architectural challenge. In this context, involving the municipality is crucial.’ Van Rijs: ‘The municipality is involved in every project in the city. Market parties had no say in defining the challenges and quality assessment took place at a distance from the judging. That’s how you make sure that market parties cannot steer on the basis of the direct interests they have in the city, but are nevertheless closely involved in innovative work on the city.’ Bijlsma comments: ‘In addition to the municipality itself, almost all of the partners in this Europan edition are project developers. Are they really the right experts when it comes to new ways of working? Perhaps it would have made more sense to involve municipal departments that deal with work and business premises. They are already much more focused on reuse, which is important for a theme like the productive city.’

Jacob van Rijs, architect and co-founder and principal architect of MVRDV and former Europan winner, is the chairman of the jury whose other members are Beatriz Ramo, architect and founder of STAR strategies + architecture, and Like Bijlsma, architect and geographer and co-founder of SUBoffice and researcher at PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.

Europan NL and AIR presented the launch of the Europan14 ‘Productive Amsterdam’ book. In conversation with EuropanNL board, the City of Amsterdam, jury members, editors and competition winners, the program reflected on what could be learned from more then two years of research and design into new urban typologies for productive mix-use neighborhoods.

The Europan 14 book was presented to Sabine Lebesque, principal client on behalf of the City of Amsterdam. In conversation with among others Europan 14 jury members Mattijs van Ruijven (head of urban design, City of Rotterdam) and Ruurd Gietema (KCAP ) we reflected on the E14 design-proposals and what we can learn for the Rotterdam search of shaping the live-work neighbourhoods of the future. Furthermore we talked with Eric van der Kooij (teamleader Spatial Quality City of Amsterdam) on research into the future of urban typologies. Kristiaan Borret shared his exemplary practice in thinking, planning and building a productive Brussels. The program ended with a review of the Europan 15 Rotterdam challenge and its key questions.

About the bookThe E14 Productive Amsterdam book presents the winning, runner-up and other noteworthy competition-proposals for the five high priority sites, that were selected for Europan14: H-buurt, Papavierdriehoek, Piarcoplein, Sluisbuurt and Transformatorweg. The book holds articles by among others Eric van der Kooij and William Stockman (City of Amsterdam); journalist Joost Zonneveld; strategic planning specialist Zef Hemel; Kristiaan Borret (Bouwmeester / Maître Architecte at Brussels Capital Region) and the Europan15 jury members Joost Beunderman (00, London) and Mattijs van Ruijven (Head of urban design, City of Rotterdam). These contributors highlight the challenges and opportunities related to the design and development of productive neighborhoods in Amsterdam and connect similar cases in Rotterdam, Brussels and London. The book offers strategies for the political and financial conditions required to foster the productive mix-use urban areas of the future and highlight the talented designers that might help shape them.

The book is now available for purchase https://www.naibooksellers.nl/productive-amsterdam-space-for-a-new-economy-europan-14-the-netherlands.html

From Monofunctional Business Area to Innovative Urban District

Brainpark I is a monofunctional business area along the highway A16. The challenge is to transform the site into a vital and interactive work-and-live area that’s well connected to the nearby the Erasmus University Campus and the public transport hub Kralingse Zoom. Submitters must come up with a densification strategy that unlocks its productive potential. The main question is: where to begin? What are the first actions to be taken? A cross section of the site with several architectural interventions should give an impulse and a direction to the transformation of Brainpark I.

Download the site brief of Brainpark I (PDF)
Download the introduction to Rotterdam (PDF)

Register for E15 NL via: www.europan-europe.eu
Also, we recommend to read the competition rules

Transforming an Industrial Port Area into a Circular Urban Makers District

Vierhavensblok is an industrial port area in transition where creatives and entrepreneurs feel at home. The challenge is to develop a vision for the site that shows which of the eight leading principles for sustainable area development can be organized collectively. How can the site be densified with new circular building blocks where working and living meet? What is the right scale for such circular infrastructures? Submitters should come up with a strategy for a phased development in which affordability and the existing collectives of Vierhavensblok and their initiatives are included.

Download the site brief of Vierhavensblok (PDF)
Download the introduction to Rotterdam (PDF)

Register for E15 NL via: www.europan-europe.eu
Also, we recommend to read the competition rules

Creating a Multifunctional ‘hub’ in the Heart of a Multicultural Vulnerable Neighbourhood

Visserijplein is a square in the heart of the multicultural and vulnerable neighborhood Bospolder and Tussendijken (BoTu). BoTu deals with great challenges in the realm of safety, working and living. The assignment is to empower the neighborhood by designing a multifunctional building block providing space to new forms of living, meeting, learning, making, playing and working. The aim is to give the area a socioeconomic boost by a combination of housing, public functions, educational program and commercial spaces in analogy of new concepts like the Library of the Future.

Download the site brief of Visserijplein (PDF)
Download the introduction to Rotterdam (PDF)

Register for E15 NL via: www.europan-europe.eu
Also, we recommend to read the competition rules

Transforming an Urban Void into the Missing Link between a Vulnerable Neighbourhood and an Upcoming Makers District

Kop Dakpark is a wasteland on a central spot along a traffic junction with multiple adjacent areas with their own dynamics and atmospheres, like The Strip with Big Shops, the Makers district M4H and the multicultural neighborhood BoTu. The challenge is to develop a new building with innovative work home typologies for various generations and income brackets. The base should have an additional program that contributes to the accessibility and urban dynamics of the location. In the end, Kop Dakpark should connect citizens with all sorts of backgrounds, knowledge and skills.

Download the site brief of Kop Dakpark (PDF)
Download the introduction to Rotterdam (PDF)

Register for E15 NL via: www.europan-europe.eu
Also, we recommend to read the competition rules