Europan as a testing ground for a new means of city making

An interview with Mattijs van Ruijven, Head of Urban Design, and Esther Heemskerk, Senior Urban Designer for the City of Rotterdam

Holistic Collaboration

Holistic urban development is partly inspired by changing national rules and regulations. There is a new law in the making – the Omgevingswet (Environmental Act) – that requires integrated urban development. Municipalities are anticipating this by adapting their policies. Heemskerk: ‘We’re facing many changes on many fronts and therefore we need a broad approach. Social themes such as inclusivity or health play an increasingly important part in reflections on ways to future-proof the city. In addition, Rotterdam is building on inner-city projects. Such projects are pre-eminently ambiguous and complex by nature. As space is scarce, we have to work more effectively.’ Van Ruijven emphasizes the importance of collaboration: ‘We’re now increasingly discussing the kind of city in which we want to live, the kind of needs the city has and the ways we can improve the city with residents, developers and other parties involved at the start of development processes. As a city, you can learn from this. By naming concerns and ambitions, they stick in people’s minds. Wittingly or unwittingly, all parties involved take the results of that conversation into account in their new projects. It’s also important that everyone, including the residents, thinks in terms of opportunities rather than problems. In this way, you launch a process of joint city making that provides the city with more opportunities to add quality value. It enables you to address challenges coherently. You can work more effectively this way and it is sometimes financially advantageous as well.’ Heemskerk: ‘Europan has given us a taste of this way of making city.’

Committed Generation 

The question is whether the designers have met the challenges in holistic ways as well. Heemskerk is delighted. ‘Designers often participate on the basis of the image they have of a city. In the case of Rotterdam, I thought that people would associate the city with high-rise buildings. But high-rise buildings hardly played a part in the entries at all. On the contrary, the participants showed the location-sensitivity we were hoping for. You can see that we are dealing with a new generation that is now working on the city. They are very socially committed.’ Van Ruijven: ‘The way the challenge was set, via broad social themes, naturally steered the outcome to some extent. Design teams take a fresh look and come up with solutions that show social commitment. Also, many designers are from other cultures, which gives them a completely different perspective on challenges. That is hugely enriching. International contributors may not have all the details of a particular location, but they may well be able to identify with the cultures of the people who live there. The inhabitants of Rotterdam come from many different cultural backgrounds, which is not always the case with local city makers. We need that broad cultural perspective to work on the inclusive city.’

One of the strengths of a competition like Europan is that it yields design proposals. Heemskerk: ‘The competition literally provides us with images that show us how locations can be changed. Take the Groot IJsselmonde location. The entries show that you can conceive of a monofunctional district as a potentially attractive and pleasant area to live and work in. The winning entry does not present the usual rows of towers, but a plan that focuses on raising quality and strengthening qualities at all scale levels. The entrants clarify how the buildings can merge with their surroundings. They pay a great deal of attention to the interaction between people and buildings. Such an entry convincingly states that you can really live an enjoyable life in this district!’

Rotterdam’s Building Culture

Van Ruijven: ‘Our architectural policy focuses on stimulating young talent and innovation. By actively involving market parties in this Europan edition, we’ve increased the opportunities for young talent in the follow-up process. To achieve innovation, the joint creative thinking process about the challenges continues in workshops. It’s always exciting to commission young designers to realize major challenges. You have to have the guts to offer these parties a chance. Especially at a time when the call for quality in the immediate living environment is becoming louder and louder, the commitment of the young generation is of great importance. Decisions about the realizability of design proposals are primarily in the hands of the developers involved at the locations, which is why it’s a good thing that these partners are also involved in the follow-up stage.’ 

Heemskerk: ‘The method of this Europan edition is very layered. This layeredness – making city together with a large number of partners, using research by design, looking for test sites and encouraging young talent – is in keeping with the urban development culture for which Rotterdam strives.’