Introduction
Bird's Eye
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.
The RE_MIX project comes from the reflection and the research activity on town planning and design in a fragile urban context. RE_MIX means an urban mixité characterized by:- the RE_USE of urban voids or brownfield sites;
- the RE_GENERATION of public areas, aimed at fostering new economic and social development processes;
- the RE_BUILT based on a new architecture with different features, ensuring the coexistence of several activities, as well as contributing to the creation of a new place-identity. The context is the city of Schiedam, which has a rich, refined historic architecture with a strong industrial tradition. However, because of the transformation of its modern urban landscapes, the city is still searching its own identity. The industry crisis and the subsequent re-organization of the industrial system have led to the reshaping of urban-occupied spaces, as well as to the delocalization from city centres and even to the closure of some enterprises. This brought to an overall reorganization process of the urban functions previously located in the central areas. During this still ongoing process, the city began to perceive a great opportunity, that is using the newly available large central areas in order to face the lack of infrastructures and services caused by a too rapid growth.
The project’s mission
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.
In a context characterized by territorial reorganization, is there scope for an optimistic project, such as the planning of new built areas? What role can architecture play in such a context? The project’s team strongly believes that urban and landscape design can actively contribute to local economic development, identifying new urban values, critically analyzing the city context, as well as creating new interactions and synergies within the local socio-economic system. At the same time, the project’s team is well-aware that architecture must be extremely pragmatic. The project aims to trigger spontaneous processes of creation of new urban and community spaces, through “bottom-up” choices, based on growth factors consistent with the place-identity, as well as through users’ participation and fundamental contribution. We believe that RE_MIX can activate socio-economic dynamics able to attract a greater variety of users (including tourists) and develop a dynamic, self-sustainable, eco-friendly, multi-ethnic environment, with a positive impact, in terms of territorial marketing, on the surroundings, thus triggering processes of social and environmental improvement. Re-Mix represents a starting point for the conversion of the whole New Mathenesse area, aimed at the development and the reorganization of its socio-economic functions, starting from the re-use of the existing urban spaces. To this end, the project’s purpose is, on the one hand, the re-design of the VROM site through an urban mixité, within which the production function will play a key role and, on the other hand, the creation of a new connection between the industrial area and the fabric of the city through the re-design of the Koemarkt area. The main challenge is then to re-configure the industrial district, re-giving it to the city. The conversion’s strategy aims at changing the VROM site in a new collective urban opportunity for the local community to create and develop – through creativity and the research of different urban solutions – new assets and businesses acting as a sort of “flywheel” for the growth of the whole regional economy. The work of the project’s team proceeded as follow:- Analysis of the New Mathenesse historical background, as well as of the settlement evolution of the area (which is located at the edges of the historic city);
- Identification of the main element of landscaping potential (such as the frontage on the Buitenhaven and the proximity to the Plantage Park);
- Analysis of the socio-economic trend;
- Identification of a key element combining different functions and growth factors.
As far as the latter point is concerned, the project’s team focused its attention on the local industries’ traditional production, which have been chosen as a guide for the entire project’s structure. In fact, industrial production is both the symbolic element of the place’s historical memory and the possibility of rebirth and development for the local community. The project’s team decided to design an urban setting which can be an element of cultural growth, innovation, production, as well as a place for social relationships. The close interrelation of those factors is, indeed, essential for a sustainable and durable development. It is only through a mutual exchange of individuals’ knowledge, skills and ideas, in suitable places, that is possible a successful regeneration. The project is based on the idea of creating relationships between functional areas which have historically been separated and poorly integrated. It indents to create spaces which may stimulate effective relationships in the creativity, research, innovation and production fields, rebuilding appropriate space connections in order to change the project’s area landscape through the improvement of its peculiar physical and historic elements. Inspired by the program n. 3 “Mix with business maximum programme”, RE_MIX is based on such a logic of exchange and mutual relations, identifying for the project’s area a mixed-use of urban functions such as: – production activities, considered both as research and creativity; – a social housing project; – infrastructures (a parking area, new roads and new public spaces).
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.
The Concept
The Concept
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.
Starting from those preliminary remarks, the project’s team has worked on the identification of the best redesign solution of the areas concerned, i.e. on the identification of the best architecture style able to combine the above-mentioned needs. The sustainability of a project is achieved through the implementation of appropriate urban strategies and operations, through land-use models taking into account both environmental issues and the local production system. The starting point of the project’s proposal is, undoubtedly, the need to create a new, modern urban fabric open to the historic city, the canal, as well as to the surrounding industrial area. The final purpose is to get a space-continuity between these three physical elements, still untied, as well as to re-give architectural harmony to a fragmented and useless site. In fact, the site’s surroundings are characterized by the significant presence of industrial architecture. The project’s concept starts exactly from the modularity’s charm of this kind of architecture, as well as of its features, such as the large size of production barns, the saturation of the available spaces and above all the type of trusses’ roofing with regular and harmonious lines. Inspired by these suggestions, the first step of the project’s proposal provides for a complete saturation of the VROM site through the creation of a single industrial building, with an orthogonal base, which will contain all the RE-MIX functions. The second step consists in creating a physical connection between Koemarkt and the VROM site, currently separated by a residential curtain, in order to address one of the crucial problems identified during the context analysis. Considering the presence of housing units on Rotterdamsedijk not as an impediment or an obstacle, but instead as an opportunity to connect, and breaking through the ground-floor of one of these units, by the way already been purchased by the municipality, the project provides for the creation of a dominant direction, that has generated the design of the entire lot VROM, respectively connecting one side with Koemarkt, through an eco-boulevard, and to the other site with the channel and the near Plantage, leads through the design of new quays and the design of a pedestrian bridge. Next, for ensure urban porosity, have been identified other dominant directions, breaking the rigidity of the initial grid pattern, we have generated new pathways and connections, setting the standards for new residential volumes of various sizes and shapes. Finally, to create new spaces in attendance to the city, the new district and especially for the people, we have moved to a final action, clearing and smoothing out some building and placing other VROM overlooking the canal and the square of Koemarkt, creating, as well, new equipped public spaces, green areas and optimizing connections with the context. The strategy chosen, as the best design approach was to start from the saturation level of the building lot and then proceed to subtract, taking lead by the influences of the consolidated city, the channel Buitenhaven, the opposite shore and the nearby industries have on the site, obtaining in this way a unique space physicist can give an opportunity for Schiedam future redevelopment and conversion of the whole area of the city making it a New Mathenesse capable of adapting to contemporary needs and the future of propulsion development.
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.
The Project
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.
The area involved in the project is composed of a variety of architectural themes, each and every one essential and whose unitary development created the entire program RE_MIX. As a matter of fact, our intervention was not only limited to the spatial restoration to a useable condition of the site VROM; the project involved a larger area, redesigning entirely Koemarkt, through the remodeling of the road lanes, strongly reshaped in the future thanks to the expansion of other routes in the outline, and the intervention on the square itself with the creation of a tree lined eco boulevard. The eco boulevard represents the common thread of the entire project; the element that with its tree lined thread sews up the fragmented urban system. Starting from the north section of the area, this clings to the vegetation already present on Broersvest, to open itself toward west on the Koemart New Urban Forest, a section characterized by rest and gathering areas which connects with the historic district, and afterwards goes down south, reaches Buirenhavenweg through the Vrom new urban intervention, converses with water and wind resting on the docks new layout, climbs over the Buitenhaven through a footbridge and finally reconnects with the adjacent Plantage Park. Either you are Walking or cycling along these routes you will come across many places, each one telling a fragment of the history of Schiedam, of its past, present and future. Characteristic element of this walk is the wind tower, technological artifact which reminding of the old windmills still present along the canal route symbolizes the urban regeneration and environmental rebirth of the area, once heavily polluted, producing clean energy which contributes to the sustainability of the project. The Vrom site represents a crux of the project, a single space capable of gathering various activities, a new pole, and future container of a series of initiatives capable of improving the entire area for a better urban quality of the old industrial neighborhood of New Mathenesse. The redevelopment plan provides the inclusion of business activities and some housing units.
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.
Business activities will be linked to the reuse and regeneration of the old industrial activities already present, but interpreted in a new form such as art-production and research-production. The first one will become an opportunity for redevelopment and expansion, because the goal will be no longer an uncontrolled and oversized production and homologation, But a quality production where the excellence will replace the big numbers. The second is meant to be interpreted as experimentation in the industrial area, in the choice of the materials and raw materials, as well as for the production cycle, including virtuous processes of recycling and reusing and limiting to the minimum the environmental impact through the use of alternative energy sources. The whole production cycle is intended to be zero impact on the environment, starting from the materials supplying stage, through the production itself and ending with the disposal and/or recycling of waste products. Housing units. In the past we used to come into the world, grow up and die in the same place. In the era of technology, movement, speeding, the habits of the human beings are completely different from those of our ancestors. These aspects have radically changed our lives, promoting people to frequently move either for studying or work purposes. All this clearly affects our habits: we spend time in some cities for working reasons, and then we move again because of them or to reunite with family. It is the so-called phenomenon of new nomadims. Hence the idea of assigning a portion of the residences to small temporary homes, another portion to housing of young couples or families at a facilitated fee and the rest to share houses with larger square footage, housing units designed to accommodate the touch and go users of the big cities, housing units for city users, basically nomads who make occasionally use of the city and who often do not find housing solutions that meet their requirements. Accommodations are often too expensive and not easily available. Designing a valid alternative to the traditional concept of housing looked to us as a concrete answer to the changed contemporary housing needs. For example, sharing big apartments with other people is a fast way to socialize in a new city as well as an excellent solution to contain costs. The expectation of this kind of dynamic housing is also ideal for accommodating those tourists who would rather blend into the local modus Vivendi than get a room in a hotel, sharing the share houses, and thus creating culturally and socially interesting multi-ethnic environments. The subject actually extends the traditional concept of Social Housing , merging together in a single social context housing units designed for stable families and temporary users who make use of it for limited periods of time. We paid particular attention also to the redesign of the shore on the canal which brushes the flow area. The Dutch territory has always been mentioned for its connection with water. Sophisticated systems of dams and canals allow gaining pieces of land taking it away from water. The limit between land and water is rethought as a game of addition and subtraction which determines the design of the new waterfront along Lange Haven and Buitehaven. The new docks generate amusement spaces and touristic mooring points, turning the site into the new city’s gateway from the water, virtual and symbolic door that rises up next to the old Rotterdamse Poort.
Board 1
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.
Board 2
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.
Board 3
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.
© Paolo Pellecchia . Published on January 15, 2014.