Appreciation for and Urban Renewal of the Westelijke Tuinsteden in Amsterdam

Abstract

The Westelijke Tuinsteden (western garden suburbs) in Amsterdam are regarded as a textbook example of the modern urban planning principles propagated in the 1920s and ’30s by the modernist Nieuwe Bouwen architects united in Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM). The plan’s designer, Cornelis van Eesteren, was chairman of this international movement from 1930 to 1947. The garden suburbs are characterized by an open development of free-standing housing blocks surrounded by greenery and without obvious fronts or backs. The plan broke with the classic urban planning repertoire of continuous street frontages. On the eve of the Second World War, small areas were experimentally filled in with row housing. But the greater part of the Westelijke Tuinsteden plan was realized after the war with central government-dictated social housing, leading to elements of the plan being adapted and filled in accordingly. There was a preference for greater variation, which was achieved by combining straight and L-shaped blocks of housing around courtyards.

In the 1950s and ’60s the post-war districts were seen as epitomizing a new way of living: light and fresh air flowed through dwellings surrounded by greenery. By the 1990s, those dreams appeared to have evaporated. An ageing population, a gradual exodus of residents, decay and declining public safety made it imperative to intervene. The liberalization of the housing market and the government’s desire to reduce the proportion of social housing forced housing associations to become market-oriented property developers. In many instances this resulted in demolition and newbuild.

Initially there was scant respect for the cultural-historical values embodied by both the spatial plan and the social housing to be found there. On occasions this resulted in the implementation of demolition-new-build plans whose underlying architectural and urban design principles were diametrically opposed to those of the original plan. One extreme example of this is Noorderhof (1995-1999), designed by Krier Kohl Architecten. Starting with that project, this article examines a series of urban renewal plans that together have altered the appearance of the Westelijke Tuinsteden beyond recognition.

While there was originally greater appreciation for the spatial plan than for its architectural elaboration, this has gradually changed. The article charts how the debates and interventions prompted the realization that these districts actually represent important cultural-historical values that deserve to be protected.

In recent years there has been more consideration given to preserving, renovating and converting the original buildings. Nevertheless, the danger of largescale interventions in the Westelijke Tuinsteden is far from over.