An interview with Kop Dakpark winners, H3O

Hybrid Parliament

Can you tell me a little about Kop Dakpark and the core concept of Hybrid Parliament?

The central idea of Hybrid Parliament is the creation of a landmark, green community by converting the large urban void of Kop DakPark near Marconiplein, into a nexus at a local and larger urban scale. It straddles two neighbourhoods: BoTu, M4H, while also connecting the green belt of Rotterdam and creating a continuous green community at the same time, facilitating a new metropolitan dynamic through the enhancement of this continuum.

What have you learned about the site and its inherent issues in the months following the competition? Do you feel that the Europan assignment is still relevant? 

The process following the competition was much more complex than we anticipated. The proposal set out the main ideas, but we realised the context is more complex, and there were some things we didn’t take into account. Social housing, for example, is extremely important. We proposed a productive community, but understand that that cannot be created exclusively, but we also have to consider the housing community.

The variables in the competition gave us complete freedom, and in our proposal, we arrived really far away from the constraints of reality, so now we adjust and start changing. But of course being very free initially is very important. 

It is important that the proposal becomes something real. The main ideas are operational, those ideas should remain within the whole process, with the aim of conducting further research studios with the municipality. These ideas are at the centre of the Europan project, but they must take into account the real world, particularly in terms of how much such a project could cost. Yes we were answering the requirements and creating a green hub, with social housing, a whole complex, but it should be feasible. It is important to maintain the operational ideas but also account for what is necessary to make it a reality. One concept that is critical to maintain is the preservation of the natural condition so close to the city. We want to fight to retain what we describe as a natural surplus.

How has the pandemic affected your progress? 

First of all it slowed down the whole process. It was not possible to have in person meetings in Rotterdam, and now the Stadsmaker’s Conference will change in format, so at the end, it’s not clear what will happen. We have a good relationship with the Europan 15 organisation, including AIR foundation, who keep us informed at each step in the process. Conversations with them are very positive, so we think that something is going to happen. For sure we’ll be involved in a project of some scale. 

For us as an office, the rest of our projects have slowed down as well, and there’s more time for reflection. This is also a positive thing as there’s more time to invest in the quality of our projects, and explore new areas.

What is the relevance of your proposal in today’s current situation given current debates regarding living in cities in relation to COVID-19? Does this inspire you to reflect on and change conditions you’ve proposed in your design?

We think that more than ever our proposal is relevant. It presents an ecological concept for the way we should live. We don’t have enough live-work places. This has particular impact for us in Barcelona where residential spaces were not necessarily designed to be workspaces. It has become important to consider how we can create warmth, and a feeling of a connected community. There is a very real human need to have a nice place to live, and to have contact with nature. What the pandemic has done is reveal the things that are not working in the city. You become suddenly aware of the fact that the city is no longer able to give you what you thought it was giving you. Hybrid Parliament’s green hub, with people working and living close to nature responds to these needs.

We propose a green community where many things can happen; everything related to living in a community near the core of the city, and in coexistence with nature, creating a rich biodiversity. When cities slowed down, suddenly nature went crazy, so the imbalance became very clear. Hybrid Parliament actively rebalances the relationship between the city and the natural environment. 

We also wanted spaces to be flexible, not just to accommodate living, but also working. During the pandemic, we spend our lives living, working and recreating in the same place. Houses have been forced to become more flexible. We need to adapt to this urgency, and the role of nature in this is very important. Before COVID these were perhaps idealistic concepts, but now these principles will impact many projects from now on. 

Based on these new insights, what do you feel is the most important quality of your proposal that offers a relevant solution to these issues?

The retention of the natural surplus in the area, and the creation of places that are flexible, and adaptable in time. We don’t know what will happen, and we don’t know what we’re going to need in terms of housing as the world changes. During lockdown, a whole housing block becomes a world in and of itself. Everything can happen there. 

What are the most important lessons that relevant parties (developers, cities, etc) should gain from your Europan experience and your proposal?

Flexibility in the structure of the process. These are challenging; there are so many parties involved and everyone wants to defend their interest. Even at a process level, the project should be flexible. This is reinforced by the project’s title: Hybrid Parliament, it implies a democratic process, where everyone has an opportunity to share their ideas. In order to come together, all parties have to be flexible, the project has to be flexible, in order to achieve its goals. Connecting to all stakeholders helps to ensure this, but we’re not sure what is going to happen. The municipality is taking things forward, and we have a local partner in order to help maintain this contact, and ensure that we’re close to what’s happening. 

It is really about being adaptable, and we’re exploring this in our extended research for Rotterdam Architecture month, especially as concerns the concept of what a green community is. We’re considering involving more parties, as the complexity of the topics requires, including perhaps collaborations with universities, the AIR foundation, and the municipality. This topic goes beyond a specific site, and we want to keep moving forward to explore this, and potentially apply for a European grant involving the City of Rotterdam but moving beyond to bring the idea incubated in Europan to a European level. 

How can the development of this particular site and area serve as an example to similar contexts in the Netherlands?

As we already explained, being from Barcelona, we understand the greater need for comfortable working and living areas and living amidst nature. How the project addresses energy efficiency is a subject that is critical in many different contexts, as well as how it addresses climate change. Adjustments can quite easily be made when you move the concept from Rotterdam to Barcelona, as the whole world is facing the same issue in different ways. Nevertheless, even if ingredients are the same, the result is different, due to different climate and social conditions.

h3o 

is an architecture studio based in Barcelona. Founded by Joan Gener, Adrià Orriols and Miquel Ruiz, it aims to foster excellence in architecture and urban design. h3o creations confront today’s challenges through a deep understanding of the current complex globalized society. Climate change, social responsibility and hybridization of new human and non-human realities lay at the core of every project.