Better Management Please!
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VISION / TEXT BAS KOOMAN / IMAGES ERIK SMITS DENSIFICATION? BETTER MANAGEMENT PLEASE! The compact city as the solution for urban growth? At best, this can only be part of the solution, say architect/professor Kees Christiaanse and BPD CEO Walter de Boer. Both believe there should be more consideration for the densely populated areas between cities. And more centralised management. “If design isn’t properly managed, urbanisation will get out of hand.” 18 bpd MAGAZINE 19 “IT’S AN ILLUSION TO THINK THAT YOU COULD OR SHOULD HOUSE EVERYONE IN COMPACT CITIES” KEES CHRISTIAANSE WALTER DE BOER OVER 20 YEARS HAS PASSED since a clear driver of success. How sense of envy. Maybe a fusion of our the nuclei. Both ways are abundantly Professor Kees Christiaanse Walter de Boer (1958) has been the first meeting of architect and urban would they like to swap positions? disciplines would be desirable …” evident in Asia, where the intermediate (1953) studied architecture CEO of Bouwfonds Property planner Kees Christiaanse and BPD KEES CHRISTIAANSE: “It would be great areas are referred to as desakota. and urban planning at Delft Development (BPD) since 2008. CEO Walter de Boer. It was during the to have sufficient funds available to initi- DESAKOTA University of Technology. He read civil engineering in Afterwards, he joined the Office Delft University of Technology, first workshops for Leidsche Rijn, the ate project developments myself. I would Worldwide, people are flocking to Desakota comes from the Indonesian for Metropolitan Architecture majoring in architecture and current ‘Vinex’ new-housing district be apprehensive about working with a the cities and these are growing, words ‘desa’ (village) and ‘kota’ (city), (OMA), and from 1983 he was a urban planning. Between near Utrecht. But they’ve kept in touch large organisation and – potentially – the and so literally means ‘village-city’. in Europe too. So what should we partner. In 1989 he founded KCAP 1982 and 1987 he worked as ever since. KCAP Architects&Planners, associated fixed conventions. Above all, do, how can we manage this These village-cities are situated 20-30 Architects&Planners in Rotterdam, an independent architect with Christiaanse’s Rotterdam-based firm I’d want to prove that excellent-quality growth properly? As soon as the kilometres outside the peri-urban which later opened offices in Van Latum in the Dutch city of and BPD have teamed up on projects projects have a positive effect on their compact city is raised as a poten- zones, from where people can still Germany, Switzerland and China. Alkmaar. In 1987 he joined the and sometimes even competed with one surroundings and can simultaneously tial solution, both men clearly feel commute to and from the nearby city Throughout his career he has Brink Groep (as project manager) another on tenders. generate high profits. Take, for example, the need to add a little nuance to centres. They are densely populated continued to combine his work and PRC Netherlands, where In his work, professor Christiaanse pri- total concepts for urban planning, the mix. and characterised by intensive agricul- as an architect and urban planner he became an organisational with research and education. From consultant. In 1991, he started marily focuses on urban planning issues architecture, social programming and KEES CHRISTIAANSE: Fifty per cent tural use. However, they differ from 1996 to 2003 he was a professor of as a development manager in complex urban situations and on the sustainability.” of the world’s population may live in densely populated rural areas because architecture and urban planning with Bouwfonds Nederlandse management of urban processes. He is cities, but half of those people don’t they have more urban-like features, with the Technical University of Gemeenten in the Central an expert in the development of campus WALTER DE BOER: “I would revel in live in the cities themselves, but in such as developed transport networks, Berlin and he has chaired the Netherlands Region. In 1997, De areas, waterfronts and airports, and the the large scale and complexity of your the areas between them. The regions increasing activity levels outside of the Institute for Urban Planning at the Boer was appointed director of revitalisation of former industrial, railway projects. Increasingly, the existing city or with the highest population densities agricultural sector and more female ETH in Zurich since 2003. real estate development with and port sites. Walter de Boer has set conurbation, together with its existing often boast the highest agricultural participation in paid labour. Christiaanse has been Programme VOF Bouwfonds Fortis, and in himself the objective of creating residen- spatial and social structures, is serving production. This is as true for Java in Leader with the Future Cities 2003 he was appointed director tial areas with the kind of high user-, as the building environment. I see urban Indonesia and the Mekong Delta in the KEES CHRISTIAANSE: “Closer to home, Laboratory in Singapore since Bouwfonds MAB Ontwikkeling experience- and future-value that will planning more as a strategy and the southwest of Vietnam as it is for the Po you can see such urbanised peri-ur- 2010. He is also an International BV in the Central Netherlands Fellow of the Royal Institute of Region. He held this position until generate sustainable returns for all urban planner as the link pin between Plain in northern Italy. These regions ban areas in the Dutch Randstad British Architects, an honorary 2008, when he was promoted stakeholders, in other words creating the vision developer and programmer. have networks of cities and villages, (the greater metropolitan areas of member of the Bund Deutscher to CEO of BPD Europe and living environments. This is also the creative part of our with many people living in and between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague Architekten, a member of the appointed managing director of industry, but it’s all-too-often snowed the links and nuclei. Densification and Utrecht) and the Ruhr in Germany. Akademie der Künste in Berlin and BPD Ontwikkeling Netherlands. Given their respective visions of under complex spatial planning pro- manifests itself in two ways: through It’s an illusion to think that you could chairman of the advisory board Walter de Boer is also a member the industry and how they cesses and procedures. It’s also why our the densification of the nuclei and the or should house everyone in compact of the Singapore University of of the executive board of Rabo approach projects, collaboration is people view what you do with a certain decentralised development between cities. Those peri-urban areas have Technology and Design. Real Estate Group. 20 bpd MAGAZINE 21 “THE IMPACT OF POOR DESIGN IS MORE PRONOUNCED x x ON LANDSCAPE x THAN IT IS ON CITIES” KEES CHRISTIAANSE 22 bpd MAGAZINE 23 “WE URGENTLY NEED NEW QUALITYx x MANAGEMENT”x WALTER DE BOER 24 bpd MAGAZINE 25 “ARCHITECTURE IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT NOT A POLITICAL PREREQUISITE. DESIGN MANAGEMENT IS INDISPENSABLE FOR URBANISATION” high agricultural and industrial outputs. KEES CHRISTIAANSE: “Both forms of problems there. And while there is some They are productive landscapes and, as urbanisation - the compact city and the difference with the rural areas in Western such, are very interesting. It’s impor- urbanised landscape - warrant equal Europe, it’s principally the same. This tant not to build on undeveloped land, attention. They are complementary. is why urbanisation should always unless you offset this by simultaneously That said, the impact of poor design is be subject to design management. improving it. In Switzerland this is called more pronounced on landscape than Architecture is beautiful, but not a polit- Ausgleichflächen and in Singapore the rule it is on cities. This is why I’m a strong ical prerequisite. Design management is for new buildings is one hundred per cent advocate of the return of a more rigid, indispensable to urbanisation. The social green replacement. centralised spatial planning system in ramifications are simply too great.” All this applies to densification in the city the Netherlands, for example, by means and the urbanised peri-urban areas, of a revitalised State Planological Service POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM which face enormous infrastructural (RPD - Rijksplanologische Dienst – ed.). Christiaanse is a fervent advocate of challenges. To prevent the ensuing Inner-city transformations are fairly inverse design. This entails determining chaos, it’s crucial that adequate strate- autonomous processes; they need little the existing qualities of an area first: gies and affordable structures are devel- steering. Urbanised peri-urban areas are watercourses, biotopes, vegetation, ave- oped for logistical water management, a different story altogether, they cry out nues lined with lovely trees, older build- waste disposal and mobility.” for management.” ings, and so on. These qualities define a fixed framework with which you can then POOR DESIGN WALTER DE BOER: “I agree. What’s consider how to incorporate new devel- 10 THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM SWITZERLAND WALTER DE BOER: “We call desakota more, a few weeks ago Minister Blok opments. It’s all about achieving a well- polycentric cities or agglomerations. I of the Dutch Ministry of Housing paid thought-out balance. Zurich-based architect/professor land more difficult. Consequently, are on brownstone (previously don’t understand why the agglomera- us a visit. A return to more centralised and urban planner Kees Christiaanse there are few large-scale develop- developed) land and none on tion isn’t given more significance. The management, such as the RPD that KEES CHRISTIAANSE: “In the relatively highlights 10 factors that contribute to ments. greenfield. Randstad in the Netherlands and the you just mentioned, is exactly what I new Dutch cities of Lelystad and Almere, spatial quality and protect long-term 5. The original railway systems in small 8.