Stedelijke ontwikkeling

7/28/2019 Stedelijke ontwikkeling

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a lecture by Gert urhahn

The river, The shoreline, The land:

a design expediTionlondon a porT CiTy

puTTing The Thames inTo Thames gaTeway

ConferenCe oCTober 31, 2006

:


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IntroductIon

I am very honored to share with you some of my thoughts

about the future of the area known as the Thames Gateway.

I am an urban designer from the Netherlands and director

of the Amsterdam based office Urhahn Urban Design and

I m ee tgete wit tw membe f m team, Jt Be -

dema e Bb Gib.

My lecture has four parts. After a short introduction I would

like to take you with me on our expedition in the full sense

f te wd, ve fit ackwledgemet wit te aea,

te eac f ible elevat teme, wig

some precedents from different places in Europe that have

responded successfully to the some of the issues that play

ee i te Tame Gatewa aea, ad fiiig wit me

emak abt blic vale, a ccet wic i m ii

allows us to think intelligently and holistically about thisarea.

Befe I tat, jt a few wd abt a ke teme f ti

conference: the presence of the port. For a good under-

standing of the present day situation we realize that the

industrial revolution and innovations of techniques have

caed a ge cale jm f bt te t a well a cit,

creating a more independent relationship than in the past.

Harbor and City started to shift in independent directions.

Ports are quite special places in the fabric of the city. Port

mea: Ecm, cmmece, iig, ditibti, wae-

e, ifatcte. Te ave tei w tg lgitic

and special rules.

We could make a difference between hard port areas and

soft port areas. Speaking about the relationship between

cit ad t e cld a, tat i te ad t aea te

t i leadig, ad te cit i tee a get, a viit.

Like i Tilb. I te ft t aea, te Cit i leadig

ad te ab ffe till te ecial atmee, like i

Catherine docks.

The soft port areas are now a cherished part of the urban

ladcae. Me geeall, wate a ive, dck, etc

add vale, meaig, excitemet.

Bt t wat extet ca te ad t aea be cmbied wit

the urban expansion?


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When approaching this large area we went in for an expedi-

ti, i te fll ee f te wd. We tied t lk at te

area with an open mind to see what is currently there.

If we think about the Thames Gateway and the

t, fit f all we eed t ecgie tat

contrary to other cities London does not have

a t Cta t rttedam, hambg

ad te citie te t i fzz, ate a ze

spread out over vast area. We are convinced that

the discussion on the Thames Gateway should be

abt me ta jt t, ew ig ad ifatcte.

Crucially it needs to deal with the complexities of what is

alead tee. Tee i a exitig ladcae, a eclgi-

cal ladcae, a iabited ladcae iteivel edalead, f livig, ad ideed f te t.

Now I would like to show you some of the slides of this

iabited ladcae, ve fit bevati ad te

shoreline.

nATurE: Fit f all tee i te ive ad te eta,

with the gradual transition from water to land: tidal beach-

e ad adbak, a age f mace, afte wic,

bt ide, a eie f idge wit metime fail tee

le, ad ill f limete. Te eclgi-

cal vale i cideable, ad it a

beauty. Human interventions have

sometimes contributed to this with

eclgical ak, atificial ill f

lad filled bbi all tee will be

part of the natural landscape.

hIsTory: we were surprised by the old villages on the ridge

ad eitage, c a ft. A mall cale ladcae, mc

worth preserving. There are snippets of history to be found

evewee: ld feie, te ab cae f ce,

ad tee ate tikig bage, at f te Wld

War 2 D-day and then serving again against floods

in later decades. Some of these elements have

bee itegated it ba exai, te bit

ae jt tee.

InDusTry: intersecting this is

a more large-scale landscape of

ma iteveti: te t,

idt c a il efieie,

dck, we tati, wate dmad ecclig eati, ditib-

ti cete, ad te ifatcte: f ca,

tai, weweeve ae witi ti aea it i alwa

tee, cle te iz. It i at f te ladcae,

it idetit, wete like it t.

ACCEss AnD VIsIBILITy: this is a key issue.

Traditionally the area has a clear basic

structure consisting of routes running

aallel t te ive: ld ad, te

ew A13, te C2C tai. Cle t

the water line a series of perpendicu-

lar access points to the river. This in

itself creates evident linkage issues along

te ive. I te cae, eticted acce i t mc

delibeate a b defalt: wat elt i a le ta ified,

patchy access pattern of often low quality. No fun of urban

beace ee, tg a bidge ad me feie vide a

more dramatic interaction with the river.

eXpedItIon: the InhabIted landscape


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ThE shorELInE: the romantic word used deliberately

t it t tetial te ealit i t a beatifl a ti

strong unifying mental image would suggest What is really

ified i te wall, te levee. Te ie f fld ik i c -

tatl mid, ad te bilt exei f ti axiet

i a ccete wall wic viall ifie Bakig wit Ca-

ve Ilad. o te lad ide: bgalw, aatmet blck,

ak, sda maket, wave, ctaie, bt ael

a diect elati t te ive via view, fctial lik.

o te wate ide: fte beat, ate. smetime at

wate. Deeted qa. Ad active idt, metime

with monumental value. And leisure. The two seem to coex-

it eglectfl f eac te eece: a

sda maket i Bakig it ilad

of the wall and looks inward. The

ailig act dt ave a glam-

maia, bt itead a eie f

jett ie ad ctaie. A iteetigcombination with surprising contrasts.

ThE porT AnD shIppInG: A I metied, tee i t

a c. Tee ae t, jettie, ab, bit. We

blic exei, te ta tei mmetal eece

te iz, i blematic: te Tilb Dck, f exam-

le, ae ded b a ccete wall. sld we cide

this concrete wall as the cultural expression of industry in

the present age? It is a reminder that contemporary indus-

t ld t be lked at i tem f beat- beat ca

cc, bt b cicidece

In sum this is not one landscape. It

is a series of places with distinct

atmee, ified b ive bt a

te ive bed ad t, edle

vaiati. It i t te gatewa i

that sense.

BuILT IDEnTITy: Then I would like to say a few words about

buildings and the development of the built landscape on

eite ide f te ive: smetime, tee i a elatii,

at leat viall, a i te Geewic Milleim Village.

Bt mc me fte ee te

ite: lacele awl, cld-be-

awee, ve few it f ive

eece, eve tw blck awa

from it such as these houses.

So the over all impression

i a ladcae f bit, ad f ivate

iitiative me f it blad, bt me-

times offering fascinating contrasts in which beauty can be

found. It seems to be a landscape that was generated not

with any particular ambition apart from strict utilitarian

needs. Are we satisfied with that or should we aim higher?

I would say that this chaotic landscape does not make themt f it tetial if te t i a ecmic fact

how can we marry that to urban development? Since it will

be alwa i view, w d we fit fm tat? Ca it el

geeate lace ad idetit? hee we ave te deig

challenge.


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InspIratIon

Looking for some inspiration I would like to show you a

couple of precedents from various European cities:

hAMBurG

Let tat wit hambg, Gema mt imtat pt

Cit. hambg a a ccetated t aea f 7400a, it-

ated ite t te Cit, 41 km qa wall f cea gig

ships and 350 km rail tracks as part of the land infrastruc-

te. I ite f te ge face, te lg ditace t te

nte sea, difficlt avigati, te cit f hambg c-

ceeded quite well to keep a close relationship between City

ad t, t l i ical ee, bt al i te metal

map of people.

- For me this room with a view symbolizes the strong af-

finity of the citizens with their harbour.

- Tee i ti well kw st pali Ladgbecke, a500 m lg flatig meade te wate, wit cafe

ad etaat, a wate tati wit blic tat

wate t vai detiati, eve t te matic

villages kilometres outside the city.

- remakable i hafecit, te tafmati f a ge

working area into a high density central area with hous-

ig, ffice, leie, meade, ad a view twe.

- Te ig a a clea ietati t te ive, bt i

the City and outside

- Tee ae beace,

- Water busses outside the city

- ad mc-lved caf ad bee gade alg te ive,

for everyone..

AnTWErp

The fascinating thing in Antwerp is that the city put a lot of

effort in the redevelopment of the old docks by emphasis-

ig te fte e f te wate. Mt f te dck, me

of the quays as well as some of the bridges are listed. The

City asked our office to organise the new program of the

wate, f ive cie, te ie bage, te maia, te

itical qate, waitig aea f mde cmmecial

shipping etc. The idea was that water and water activities

ca el t bilt te iqe atmee, f te fte

housing and mixed use area.

- We carefully investigated the physical conditions: What

is the accessibility? How big are the basins? How deepis the water? In order to reorganise the conditions for

the shipping program.

- At the very end of the area quite close to the new har-

bour area there is my favourite place. A caf restaurant

in a listed pump house with outdoor terraces. A soft

port activity in a hard port neighbourhood. Exiting.

- nt fa awa tee i ate attacti, te d dck

aea, atl till i e b te t atit, wit me-

time a i i eaati, a iece f at. Ti i wate

elated activit, idt ad blic aea. I e it will

not change in future.


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roTTErDAM

nw we mve t rttedam. hee a ecial gaiati

is formed for managing the transformation of the area in

between the hard port activities and the soft port activi-

tie, called stadave, wic mea Cithab. Cit ad

Port authority together are searching for a suitable future

of that area. Meanwhile the organisation started to work in

one of the old buildings of what has been the biggest wharf

f netelad, te rDM waf. Fm ee, a lt f activitie

are started.

- One of them is the organisation of a new smart program

for the wharf area which respects the fringe condi-

ti f te t. It ld be a labat, wkace ad

taacti, tgete wit iveit ad te cl.

Tema ccati i ecaged, a diveit f

activities takes place. The area is much sought after for

conferences and presentations in the creative sector.

- Already very successful is the water busses and highspeed water taxis. The quickest way to move along the

rttedam wateft.

AMsTErDAM

What I would like to show here is the concept of the All

weather terminal. Our office has been asked by the Har-

bour Authority to look for a spatial concentration of various

activities linked to the timber harbours as modern distribu-

tion centre.

- Te idea wa t ccetate ffice, cmaie ad

harbour activities in one building complex including the

all weather terminal where goods can be loaded and

laded, ideedet fm weate cditi. Tat

offers of course enormous economical advantages

and minimize the environmental spillovers of activities

ie, dt, mell i a wa tat ffice ad e

could be built nearby.

- Another idea is the promotion of flexible and generic

building types that can be adapted by future uses and

tat ca adjt t cagig cicmtace. Te adva-

tage of such buildings is already felt by those who use aGeorgian house as an office. The search for this kind of

building typologies enables us to think creatively about

how modern industry and urban development can be

close to each other. This is an exciting and challenging

field of work which will profit from further study and

testing in reality.

OSLO

Te lat ecedet i abt ol, wic a develed ig

ambitions to reorganise the relationship between city and

harbour in a radical way

- wit a efect acceibilit fm te cit t te wate,

a elt f a 2 km tellig te ca taffic, wit ice

places and well designed public realm and meeting

points for everyone

- The reshuffling helps to keep and enforce the strong

ctat betwee cit, ab ad ate, a iqe

selling point for the long term future.


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publIc value

What can we learn from such examples? Well first of all

there are precedents that can inspire us to think and also

dream about the future of the area. They are never one-to-

one applicable but they should make us think what will be

ible, elevat ad excitig.

Bt metig ele emege t f tee lide, ad tat

is a concept I would like to highlight briefly before finishing.

This is the concept of public value.

pblic vale i a lic tl, it i igiall ed t cce-

talie Gvemet added vale. It a emeged, ecetl,

in US / UK to think differently about how Government

ceate, add, eeve det vale() i wat te

d. It i abt iteveti, c a laig ad devel-

met, i tem tat g bed fiacial vale leat cti bette. It i me litic ad ecgie te fact tat

me vale ae itagible, t well meaable, bt mat-

ters anyway. For example the wider public domain: public

acce, te qalit f bildig. recetl te uK Clte

seceta, Tea Jwell ed it t teie te Gve-

met le ad dt t imve te blic ealm, tacklig

te vet f aiati .

Give bt te eet cditi, te aet, te te-

tial ad te wate, develig te Tame Gatewa cld

usefully be formulated as developing value. That private

vale will be ceated ca be exected; e will be bilt,

ad ig cete, lad ice will ie, ele will be

ed. hweve i te ce, te vale migt be i

dage. Te fecig ad me ew aatmet ject

i t elfl t ceate bette blic ace, f exam-

ple. Trust is a key element of public value and we need to

tik abt tat qite caefll. s, wat kid f devel-

met, ad develmet ce, d we aie t, ad f

what kind of values? What values do we want the Thames

Gatewa t be aciated wit i te mid te blic, te

consumers and the investors?

Public investment will enhance private value. That will fulfil

blic bjective bt i tat all? sme ew ig i t

a gai, eve tg it i efl. It ca actall be a lt -

tetial ad a fte blem if t de well. Ti i t jt

about Government. Investors should be asking themselves

te ame qeti, ad ld be ecaged t d .

s we ave ee te image f te ladcae, ad we ave

seen some good examples of port development elsewhere.

I wld like t ave a dici wat blic vale will we

ceate? hee i jt a lit (lide 3) f wat te debate ca beabout.

How do we start? How do we define what these public

values are? What the cultural values are? How can we ac-

cept a process beyond the mere designation of zones for

infrastructure and housing? The government announce-

met abt Te Fael Ladcae ak i l a te i

the right direction if they recognize that the port is part of

te ecmical, cial ad ical ladcae, ad tat te

ak ld be develed wit te t, t agait te t.

Vale i eve l itiic, it aive t f wat we vale,

wat te blic vale, ad i teefe e t dici.

Let ave tat dici, be e ad cllabative, tat

wit ele ad tei deam. pla wit ele i mid (i-

cldig te ele w ae tee w) ad we ld aim

ig. Tik agai: w beatifl ca elie be

Stedelijke ontwikkeling

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