Where in Zuidas
Not a protected monument
The plans for the demolition of the Oldschool building date back several years. The municipality wants the building at this location to make way for development planned in the Kop Zuidas area. Part of the ‘residential triangle’ (also known as Plot L2) is planned for the site where Oldschool currently stands; this will provide around 500 new homes in total. A local park is planned on the side of Kleine Wetering. These plans are included in the Zuidas Kop Zuidas 2018 zoning plan that applies to the area.
Bond Heemschut applied to the municipality to designate Oldschool as a municipal monument in 2019, so that the building could not simply be demolished. Bond Heemschut argued that the building ¬– with its clearly visible concrete framework, frontage elements and offset frontage sections – is typical of the functionalist architecture of the 1970s and is therefore worthy of protected monument status. The municipality agreed that the building is worthy of protected monument status; however, if the building were to be left standing, the planned housing development could not be completed. The municipality therefore decided to prioritize the residential function of this area of Zuidas over the preservation of the cultural-historical value of the building. The Bond Heemschut’s application was therefore rejected by the municipality.
Appeal
Bond Heemschut then submitted an appeal against the municipality’s decision, but that appeal has now been declared unfounded by the court. In the opinion of the court, the municipality was right to decide not to designate protected monument status to the Oldschool building because this would have a disproportionately adverse effect on the local regeneration project. The court took account of the fact that the local regeneration project is already at an advanced stage.
Bond Heemschut now has six weeks to appeal against the court’s decision.
Give your opinion