SINGELPARK Leiden full circle

LOLA landscape architects

Table of contents

1. Foreword p. 5 2. Leiden and the Singels p. 7 3. A new park for Leiden p.13 4. Singelpark: Leiden full circle p.15 5. Maximum diversity p. 19 6. Intuitive navigation p. 27 7. Cosmopolitan nature p. 39 8. Free space p. 45 9. Our team p. 49

Colofon p. 51

1. Foreword

Leiden has acknowledged the most important park concept of our time: the Singelpark will become an attractive ring of interlaced parks wrapped around the heart of the historic inner city. From New York to Singapore, the phenomenon of the ‘linear park’ is the 21st century response to our contemporary green needs: connectivity, breathing space, biodiversity. The Singelpark will become the one and only linear park that goes full circle: a single continuous space and ecological connection.

Something extraordinary is happening in the heart of Leiden. The citizens of Leiden collectively embrace the development of the Singelpark with unequaled enthusiasm. Leiden’s residents are very influential and engaged with the development of their city, as they have proven in the past with their participation in the RijnGouwelijn and Nieuw Leyden projects.

Yet, the Singelpark is not just a plan or a project, it is an ideal. It is the ideal of a greener, more sustainable, beautiful, exciting Leiden. It is an ideal to value for at least the coming twenty years and hopefully for the coming century. A project on such a scale, with such extensive plans, requires flexibility in strategic choices and at the same time, timelessness in the design implementation. Simply put, the Singelpark will be tailor-made for the people of Leiden. It should give inspiration in a way that can still be felt in the coming ten or twenty years.

The vision that lies before the reader is based on the knowledge we obsessively gained in the past two months about Leiden, its history, its challenges and its people. It is based on our conception of city parks, nature and society. We visited and photographed the city extensively, met with and interviewed people, read books and researched the web. We hope the result is an idea that makes Leiden proud.

5 1200 1899

1575 1966

1630 1992

1725 2012

1850 2040?

Leiden’s history through the glasses of the Singelpark

6 2. Leiden and the Singels

In order to answer the question on what the future identity of the Singelpark could be, it is important to understand Leiden’s identity today, and the role of the Singelpark within it.

History: from Golden to sixteen shades of Green The footprint of the Singelpark is set in the Golden Age, when civic life flourished in all its aspects: economy, culture and science. For almost two centuries the canals and bulwarks that were built in the 17th century formed the façade of the city. They are the monuments of the most turbulent and wealthy era of the history of Leiden: starting with the dramatic Leidens Ontzet, followed by the constitution of the University and the Hortus Botanicus, the booming of the textile industry and the lives of painters like Van Rijn, Lievens, Van Goyen and Dou.

In the 19th century the city burst out of its defense line seams and the ring of bulwarks was occupied by a myriad of functions: cemeteries, factories, buildings, and an attractive park, the Plantsoen. In the second half of the 20th century, the functions of the first wave of occupation of the bulwarks slowly disappeared, and since the 1980’s the numerous industrial complexes have been converted into a new range of urban functions. In the meantime and very gradually, the amount of park space has been enlarged. Through time, the primary function of the Singels changes from merely defense to a more diverse mix of urban functions, eventually focusing completely on leisure, both for the inhabitants of Leiden and for visitors. In total, sixteen parks can be discerned along the Singels. Each one of them has a different history and different function.

7 Moving water edges through time

replaceable irreplaceable

Monumental value: what should be preserved and what can change?

8 The monumentality of red, green and blue The historical value of Leiden’s inner city and the Singelpark is self-evident, but not all existing elements are equally valuable. The Singels started as quite a generic military structure, and became more typically ‘Leiden’ through occupation and re-occupation. In order to intervene in this historical environment, we will have to agree on the monumental value of things. The monumental value of the existing is dependent on age, beauty, uniqueness and the role in the narrative of the city. This narrative is expanding.

In general, green elements like trees, shrubs and lawns are considered less monumental than built elements, like the Morspoort or the Sterrenwacht. Natural sceneries constantly change while built city views can stay completely unaltered for 300 years. Further to this, the water edge of the Singel itself has altered over time. Although the shape of the Singel has roughly stayed intact, the edges moved outward and inward, depending on the function of the bulwarks. These historic city edges have a certain degree of fluidity. The historical flexibility of water and green space gives a ‘moral’ position of freedom to intervene.

9 Open water, grand views

Enjoyable park spaces

Intimacy

Involved citizens

10 Contemporary qualities Next to its historic backbone of monuments and stories, the Singels of Leiden have some very specific fundamentals for any future development. First of all, there is an exquisite collection of parks and spaces. For the old examples like Groenesteeg and the Plantsoen it is obvious they do not need a makeover: at most a gentle touch-up. Yet, the recently refurbished Huigpark, while offering essential open space to the city, rather misses out on vivacity in its park services and functions.

Secondly, the inner city and some parts of the Singelpark have a very intimate character. This has a significant impact on how people use the space: think of the Cum Laude Concerts in the courtyards of the inner city. In no other city we have seen so many people sitting on a bench by themselves reading a book – clearly at ease in the urban environment. The many signs in public space with do’s and don’ts (e.g. “this planter is no urinal” or “sail quietly”) show that the people want to keep it that way.

That leads to the third quality: the involvement of the citizens. They have proven in the past that they can make or break any development. The development of the RijnGouwelijn through the inner city has been successfully blocked, whereas the Singelpark has been enthusiastically been embraced until now. This involvement is rather unique and should be seen as a crucial force behind the genesis of the future Singelpark.

In contrast with this intimacy of the inner city, the water of the Singel is stunning in its size and continuity. It opens up grand views on the city and offers the necessary open space for different user groups to each claim a piece of the public realm without leading to conflict.

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3. A new park for Leiden

As stated before, the Singelpark is not a regular project; it is a rather abstract ideal, shared by the many citizens of Leiden. The ideal can be seen as a comprehensive cloud of ideas and ambitions, a complex sequence of do’s and don’ts that is impossible to capture in just a single image or slogan. This is reflected in the way the competition is organized: designers are not asked to base their ideas on a specific programme and a list of judgment criteria, but on eleven guiding principles, the extensive results of a brainstorm evening with the citizens of Leiden, and a qualitative essay.

To quote the essay: “Leiden is looking for the common thread, which unites all these different areas, paths and water structures, to make the Singelpark form and feel as one. (…) This competition aims to generate multiple ideas for the identity and cohesion of the Leiden Singelpark.” This should result in an overarching vision for the future as well as a very down to earth first step that can be taken in the next five years.

When envisioning the future Singelpark, the main question is where the balance lies between unity and diversity, between control and laissez faire. We want it all: the question is how we want it and where we want it.

13 Singelpark towards the west 4. Singelpark: Leiden full circle

The green spaces along the Singels of Leiden have the potential to become a great city park. The steps that need to be taken in order to get there will be explained on the basis of four themes: Maximum diversity; Cosmopolitan nature; Intuitive navigation and Free space. Leiden University

Project 1: continuous park edges

Project 2: programming the park spaces

Project 3: de-streeting 5. Maximum diversity

Cities generate and attract diversity. Maximum diversity is maximum qual- ity: satisfaction of one overall identity will be far smaller than the joy of great diversity. That is why the Singelpark is all about diversity of life and variety of use, connected by one continuous green ring.

Green ring. Seen from afar, the Singelpark is green ring around the city center. This ring connects to other nearby parks, but also to nature reserves and recreational areas at the outskirts of Leiden. The Singelpark is the cen- tral ring in this natural network.

De-street. In order to make this green ring a reality, a low-traffic Singelpark is preferable. To optimize the park experience there is a need to de-street the current lay-out of the Singels. This means that the Singelpark does not double as a continuous route for car traffic. Instead, the city center is ap- proachable over four routes that cross the Singelpark.

Multi-layered. The Singelpark is a multi-layered figure. For centuries and centuries, the park has seen many historical happenings and profound changes. The Singelpark embraces this historic layering and adds to it. For everybody. The Singelpark is for the whole public. That means its lay- out is tailored to fit the residents of all types of backgrounds, as well as the scholars and students of the university. Children can find their way in the park just as easily as tourists find the highlights there.

Backbone. Starting from the inside of the Singelpark, there is the central green ring. This is the backbone of the park: continuous, even endless. It is recognizable and always present, composed of the water and green shores of the Singel, having paths and trails as its main features.

Local parks. Next to the central ring are the individual parks. These parks have their own history, their own ownership, their own looks, and their own role in the city. The goal of the Singelpark is not to make these differences equal. Instead the differences are amplified, resulting in a multi-colored Singelpark, where the Huigpark differs from the Plantsoen instead of resem- bling it.

Distinguishable quarters. Adjacent to the parks, there are the quarters of the city itself. These consist mainly of urban blocks with a distinguishing identity. One such example is the Rembrandt quarter which has prominent charac- ter. These quarters are enhanced through the strengthening of their relation with the Singelpark.

19 Plan 1:5.000

2012: Separated islands, inaccessibe water edges

2012-2015: Closing the ring

22 2012-2020: Programming the park areas

2020-2025: De-streeting

23 Nieuwe Rijn

26 6. Intuitive navigation

To experience a park pleasantly one should be able to rely on their intuition. In product design intuitive use and navigation is a must – in landscape design it should be too. It is worrying to see how quickly the most beautiful places on earth become cluttered with all sorts of signs and information. Not the Singelpark: it boasts a different concept about how people can move through the park and how they can obtain, process and generate information. All of this packed in a beautiful setting.

Park feeling. A route through a park is a logical and self-explanatory element. One does not want to lose the path in a housing block or shopping street. The presence of the Singelpark should be felt at all times. In the Singelpark all routes are constantly accompanied by water or nature.

Follow the water. The main path should have such a clear course that literally everybody can find it, no matter what age, IQ or nationality. To walk the Singelpark one just needs to follow the water. The clarity is strengthened by making the shores of the Singelpark look completely different than the canals in the rest of the city, providing them with unique vegetation and stylish hardscapes.

House boats. To be able to follow the water means that not all house boats can stay where they are presently located. That does not imply we suggest relocating them without considering the consequences: the goal is to offer some of the house boat owners equally attractive alternative locations. Linking park. The Singelpark is more than only the Singels and their shores. It is a ring of independent city parks that the Singelpark links together. Each of these parks has its own identity, use, and atmosphere. Singelpark’s path system respects that by not passing directly through those parks, but by linking them to its new routes.

Multiple routes. Always adjacent to parks and water, the park supports more than one route. There is one route that is ideal for running or promenading. This route has is composed of broad boardwalks, major hardscapes, places to get drinks and dinner. Another route is more quiet and more natural. There is of course also the completed route over the water.

Sun or shade. Dutchies like to walk in the sun. Whenever the weather is fit for it, we go out to catch some rays of sun. The route system is in every way optimized for a sunny experience. When it is too hot outside the routes provide some shade too. All visitors have a clear choice to walk in the sun, or to walk in a more protected condition.

27

Singelpark 2 x 6,3km

High Line 2,3km

Bloomingdale Trail 4,3km

Hofpleinviaduct 1,9km

Scale comparison of linear parks

28

Slope variations

29 1. Plantsoen

2. Lammenschansweg

3. Sterrenwacht

4. Hortus Botanicus

5. University

6. Rembrandtplein and windmill De Put 7. Lammermarkt

8. NUON terrain

9. Blekerspark

10. Ankerpark

11. Meelfabriek

12. Cemetery Groenesteeg Water ring

Green ring

32 Bike and pedestrian ring

No inner ring for the car

33

NATURE “... de kroon is breed en koepelvorm Unlock a spoken explanation De gebogen takken dragen slanke of the vegetation in the lange, gele twijgen die recht oml scenery provided by experts of the Hortus Botanicus.

ACTIVE Use the key to unlock special features of the objects in the park. Visitors can play the Like recording your skate moves. recorded moves from the skatepark. This lock will notice the key, secured under the skateboard. So the skater can view back his moves.

... so it can be unlocked by visitors at a later moment CULTURE and enjoyed again. The plays held in the amphitheater are recorded...

HISTORY Historic places will show their hidden stories.

Der Bedeutungswan- del zu einem „Hof des Friedens“ vollzog...

Virtual concept: several possiblities of the Key to Discovery

34 No signs. The key to a sign-free park is a route system that is obvious and appealing at the same time. One could say that this route system is curiosity driven, making signs obsolete.

Key to discoveries. Each citizen of Leiden gets a key to the park. This key can unlock all kinds of information and interactive applications. The information is dynamic, can be changed from time to time and can even be generated and shared by visitors. With every visit the Singelpark leads to new discoveries.

The main purpose of the Key to Discovery is to captivate the Singelpark visitor by unveil- ing what is otherwise invisible, now captured in the virtual layer. The locks can be found everywhere in the park. They are a trigger for curiosity driven navigation: “what is behind this lock?”

All citizens of Leiden are handed the key to discover the virtual layer of the Singelpark. By using the key the visitor unlocks locations in the park and they are able to look into the recent history, historic past, or future of that spot. The locks to these keys are in ef- fect gateways to the virtual layer, in the shape of common objects scattered around the park, featuring an iconic representation of a lock to seduce the visitor to reveal whatever is there to discover. They are generic, nondescript, general purpose, and they mostly provide their content through associated mobile applications. It is only after using the key that the location unveils its secret.

The Key to Discovery encourages visitors to scrutinize the parks and discover experienc- es that are of their interest. Possible themes: Active, Cultural, Historic, Nature. The infra- structure allows a changing program of content. For instance, during the Leidens Ontzet celebrations, the locks allow discoveries of stories about the historic events.

35 Cemetery and Meelfabriek

Europe

Gulf of Alaska

Japan East Coast USA

Southeast China

Madagscar

Argentina South Africa Southeast Australia

Plant collections from comparable climates will find their way to the Singelpark

38 7. Cosmopolitan nature

The Singelpark is a place for residents to escape from the dense city. For tourists, it is a chance to look at the city from a different perspective. The world’s greatest city parks – like Central Park or the Emerald Necklace all show a clear image of nature. In Leiden, this image should be diverse and international.

Super-natural. The Singelpark is the place to celebrate the presence of nature deep within the city: the presence of flowers, birds, small mammals, fish and bees in our urban conditions. The key is to make the existence of nature possible here, to optimize all conditions for abundant flora and fauna. To do so, a new base flora is introduced: one of tall grasses and wild, showy flowers.

Botanical Supplier. The Hortus Botanicus is one of the Singelpark gems: its gardens are luscious; the history connected to it is very valuable and appealing. Moreover, the Leiden Hortus is connected to Horti all over the world, making an introduction of very special species from similar climate and hardiness zones in the Singelpark possible.

Botanical Curator. The super-natural Singel and its special gardens ask for a keen eye on its botanical health. The Hortus could act as a Botanical Cura- tor, making sure all the species from all over the world find their way to the right gardens in the Singelpark, with the right conditions. For the Hortus it is a chance to expand their collections and add more public-friendly areas. They can also contribute by sharing knowledge and training volunteers and gardeners.

The Green Skyline. A new composition of trees in and around the Singel- park will redefine the skyline of Leiden. As every era added its icons to the skyline of the inner city – churches, windmills, factories – now is the time to add a composition of giant trees, the tallest we know of. This will make the Singelpark visible from the Burcht in the heart of the city and from many of the tall buildings around the center. These trees will grow slowly, special measures need to be taken to improve their growing conditions.

Echo Gardens. From façade to façade gets a whole new meaning. A series of spectacular gardens on the outer shore of the Singel echo the special planting inside the parks around the Singel. They are announcements of the different parks: whenever you see a change in flowering gardens at the Sin- gel, you know something special can be found on the other side.

39 High trees on the parts of the Singelpark that are visible from the Burcht

Effect on the skyline of Leiden’s inner city

40 View from the Burcht NUON terrain

The cloud of ideas can be funneled by Circles for each park zone.

44 8. Free space

Parks are for people and the Singelpark is also by its people. Previous get-togethers showed that there is a large audience and a strong will to get involved amongst the citizens of Leiden. Our strategy allows residents to get fully involved in their part of the Singelpark.

Living city. The Singelpark is part of Leiden, a lively and vibrant city. The inner city bustles with life, and so should the Singelpark: alive with people, but also flowers, birds and bees. It’s up to the park to replicate the same spirit that is present in the city center. It is no museum, it is a podium.

Breathing space. The Singelpark is one of the oldest city edges of Leiden. Over time, the use and appearance of this city edge changed. In the future, it will continue to, keeping up with its lively users. The Singelpark offers breathing space for these changes. The park is dynamic!

Free space. To give the inner city breathing space not everything should be planned and fixed in the Singelpark at one time. Instead, the Singelpark offers citizens flexible programming, spaces that can change again in the future. The flexible programming allows the Singelpark to be future-proof.

Public Circles. In programming the free space, we see a large role for the community of Leiden. Each individual park within the boundaries of the Singelpark has different users and different stakeholders: inhabitants, institutions and companies. They will be involved as much as possible by organizing ’Circles’. Each Circle adopts a park and selects the most viable programming, functions and features for the space; the extensive list that was produced by the citizens during the successful brainstorm session is an excellent starting point. Also the programming of events can be organized by the Circles.

Dynamic phasing. The Singelpark Circles and the ring allow for a dynamic phasing. The ring could be designed and developed at once. Meanwhile, Circles can be organized and the programming the free spaces of the Singelpark can begin. There is a vibrant Singelpark before you know it!

45 Negotiation: redistribute parking within a radius of 100m

Existing situation: parking all along Option: in place of old industrial building

Option: parking in between gardens Option: underneath sports fields

P

Option: reshuffle Option 2: parking garage

46 Negotiation: redistribute houseboats

Existing situation: houseboats occupy water slopes

Option 1: move elsewhere, enjoy bigger garden Option 2: public path, no garden

47 Future sdvisors:

Buiting Advies tree advisor

Competition phase:

had talks with: Hortus Botanicus botanical curator

had talks with: LOLA The Incredible landscape design had talks with: Machine had talks with: information design

Deltavormgroep technical design

?

Future partners: Share and stakeholders: Organizers:

Gemeente Citizens of Leiden, Vrienden van Leiden insititutes, companies het Singelpark coordination one circle of share- and stake- organisation holders per park

48 9. Our team

LOLA is an emerging Dutch office for landscape architecture, based in Rotterdam. With spot-on ideas and actions based on a combination of research and design, LOLA (LOst LAndscapes) wants to bring new life to forgotten, worn-out and changing landscapes. In doing so, LOLA has an optimistic and conceptual approach, as well as a fascination for new spatial phenomena. LOLA works for governments, provinces, municipalities and cultural institutions. The office won multiple design competitions and awards, amongst them European Portugal, the EO Wijers competition, the Delta Water Award and a recent design competition to enlarge a historic park.

For each project, LOLA collaborates with specialists that have a crucial role in reaching the highest quality and best content. For this competition the office attracted several advisors, which gave important input for the developed vision. LOLA is intending to involve them as advisors in the future, if this will be selected.

Deltavormgroep is specialized in small scaled landscape design, controlling every detail. They manage to combine realism with conceptual quality in early stage of the design process. Previous collaborations between LOLA and Deltavormgroep have proven to be successful.

The Incredible Machine is a design agency that works on ‘the internet of things’: designs to connect the virtual world to our real one. After two decades of copying the real world onto the internet, now is the time to enrich our daily environment with the possibilities that the virtual world offers.

Hortus Botanicus has been more than an advisor; they will be probably be involved in the Singelpark longer than any designer. One of their targets is to disclose their collection of plants to the general public: something that could be achieved in the Singelpark greatly.

Buiting Advies is an ecological consulting firm with a passion for trees. The firm offers the necessary knowledge to design with ecosystems and is used to collaborate with landscape architects. Their contribution is to make sure that the soil, wind, sun and water conditions fit the vegetation and vice versa.

49 50 Colofon

Vision + design by LOLA landscape architects Peter Veenstra Eric-Jan Pleijster Anna Sobiech Julia Schulz Erica Chladova Olivier Sobels Raimonda Cybaite Sanne Allersma

Artist Impressions by LOLA + Francesco Garofalo

Interactive concept by The Incredible Machine Marcel Schouwenaar Harm van Beek Aernout Peeters

June 2012

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