Towards a (more) vibrant Zuidas at eye level

At the start of this year, property developer Zadelhoff was awarded the contract for the building The Harmony in the new, traffic free residential neighbourhood Ravel. The winning proposal features a ground floor layer, known as the plinth, with a façade and layout that can be adapted according to requirements. This is more than just a creative design choice and actually represents a different perspective on the role of a building in a vibrant neighbourhood. Urban design specialist Jaap Brouwer from the City of Amsterdam puts it this way: ‘Effective interaction between the building and its environment is becoming increasingly important for the success of both.’

In various places across Zuidas, there are already restaurants, gyms and care providers located on the ground floor of buildings. Despite this, many people still take the view that there is a shortage of ‘vibrant street life’, especially outside office hours. ‘A varied and surprising offer certainly adds to the vibrancy of an area’, says spatial planner Kirsten Plattje, also from the City of Amsterdam. ‘That’s why we put a lot of thought into the requirements that we as the government set when there are developments on land owned by the municipality. When assessing plans for development, it therefore may make sense to award a lot of points for a building design that features several smaller spaces on the ground floor, rather than one or two large areas. That helps to keep rents relatively affordable and also creates opportunities for the local florist and Turkish baker, for example.’

For example, we would very much like to see more social and cultural amenities in the plinths of buildings. But these often rely on subsidies that change every year, making them less attractive tenants to building owners than more capital-rich players who are able to rent large amounts of space, such as a national supermarket chain or gym. ‘But actually adding amenities of this kind attracts a wide-ranging public to the building in the longer term, also increasing the overall vibrancy of the neighbourhood’, explains Brouwer. ‘Of course, the opposite also applies: a building is more attractive to residents and employees if it’s located in a lively neighbourhood. And we’re increasingly finding that developers, property owners and the (international) world of business also take the same view.’

This increasing focus on the interaction between a building and its environment is also of benefit for the area as a whole. Of course, while we are committed to ensuring new developments feature attractive and interesting plinths, the biggest challenge comes in the plinths of existing buildings. If there are new tenants, or a building or complex is being redeveloped, this generally creates good opportunities. For example, the multifunctional building Mahler 1, on the site of the former Circl building in Gustav Mahlerplein, will include a range of public amenities that focus on the public realm. At the same time, WTC owner CBRE also has plans to renovate the integrated, publicly-accessible atrium in Zuidplein. Brouwer: ‘Ideally, you need to choose just the right time to compare these kinds of plans with each other, talking to the developers and owners about what the plans are and how they can complement each other.’ Brouwer continues: ‘For example, Mahler 1 is set to be a great place to meet in good weather, while the atrium in the WTC is there to provide vibrancy and protection when it’s not so sunny. By considering all of the developments together in this way, no single building stands alone, but it actually becomes a real part of the vibrant city district of Zuidas.’