From infrastructure to public space
The Hart van Zuid area development is one of the largest developments in the Netherlands and symbolizes the approach of social problems that Rotterdam South has; impoverished houses and streets, dodgy landlords, money laundering stores, insecurity, drug crime, high unemployment, debts, low school results, single-parent families. The high turnover rate of residents is also a problem: Rotterdam-Zuid has difficulty retaining “social risers”, who want to leave the neighborhood.
The area, built in the 1960s, is a typical modernist center. With infrastructure-based ridership of large-scaled, regional programs, the human scale is inappropriate to the larger gesture. The era in which traffic, concrete and unsafe underpasses dominated this area is coming to an end. The new and renovated buildings are always at the service of the public space and provide streets and squares with lively façades. The area, which amounts to over 60 hectares, will acquire a mix of functions (culture, sports, housing, retail and education) and is being restructured in phases over the past 10 years and will continue in the coming years.
The development must give a quality boost to the area in Rotterdam South and extra jobs, better livability and better facilities for residents. The core of the concept by the team of Karres en Brands, is a final image in outline, wherein connecting, decelerating and social encounters are key.
A green boulevard
The renovated Gooilandsingel will be the connecting link between all developments, linking Zuiderpark with Tarwewijk in a north/south direction. The more then 2.500 daily buses and taxis have made way for a green promenade with lush groups of plants and trees interspersed with terraces. Much has changed around Zuidplein in recent years. For example, the former Charlois swimming pool was demolished to make way for the new Zuidplein Theatre. A new building for the arts was constructed, Kunstenpand and a local administrative office was transformed into a swimming pool Ahoy and the shopping centre has been renovated and expanded. The area development was concluded with the redesigning of Gooilandsingel.
Linking the neighbourhood and public transport hub
On this city boulevard, a new dynamic city square is built, the watersquare. This will provide an important meeting point in this colourful part of the city linked to the centre. Prominent features and crowd-pullers, such as the Kunstenpand and new swimming pool, are placed around this square and the connecting car-free promenade in a way that invites visitors. Climate change has been taken into account in the urban area around Zuidplein. With summers becoming longer and hotter, the water square provides cooling and offers an informal recreational and meeting place between surrounding neighbourhoods and public transport hub. In addition to the 64 fountains, cooling mist elements have been integrated in the square to offer respite on hot days. This is the first square in the Netherlands where the water fountains are supplied with locally filtered water.
Circular water system
The water square is connected to the urban water buffer, a unique circular water system that connects buildings, public space, and Zuiderpark. In this system, rainwater is collected, filtered, stored, and reused. To make this possible, a crate storage facility was created under Gooilandsingel. During heavy rain, this system can collect 2.4 million litres of water in one go. This water is purified by a biofilter of plants on the edge of Zuiderpark, then stored deep underground. The clean water is then available to be pumped up for the fountain, and the remaining water used across the area. For example, Ahoy (one of the largest event halls in the Netherlands) wants to use the water from the water buffer for cleaning windows and floors, while the new Pathé cinema will use the water to flush toilets. This adds up to a saving of 15,000 cubic metres of drinking water every year, a big step forward for sustainability. If the reservoir has enough capacity, the water can even be used to flush out Zuiderpark in the summer if the water quality there is at risk of deterioration. Rotterdam hopes to reuse 20 million litres of rainwater, without having to install a sewage treatment plant that would require chemical decontamination.
Design
The square is a work of art, with flowing organic forms cut with impressive precision from various types of natural stone. The design is an ode to Rotterdam’s talent for reconstruction. The elegant shapes are accentuated by the use of different types of stone and finishes. The square has different fountains, forming a harmonious whole with the organic structures of the stone. The link with Rotterdam, the port, and the period of reconstruction is also reflected in the poem written by poet Derek Otte especially for the Waterplein. Four lines of this poem are physically integrated into the square: In this moment I seek safe haven / between what has been and what will be/ I take a moment to drop the anchor / and in that moment I am free.
Architecture offices involved in the design:
Derek Otte (city poet), FieldFactors (water management), Rots Maatwerk (fountain technology), Heijmans (constructor) and Municipality of Rotterdam (client).
Location:
Gooilandsingel and watersquare Annie M.G. Schmidtplein
3083 NZ Rotterdam
The Netherlands
Design year: 2013 – 2023 Year Completed: 2023 [phase 1]
