I recently had the chance to visit Ypenburg, an ex military base converted over the last decade to an urban district close to the Hague. The visit was inspired by recent interest in the work of Dutch architecture practice Rapp and Rapp and a rational language we have been exploring for the Tottenham Court Road Over Site Development on Oxford Street.
Perhaps the architectural language was a little too commie and repressive than it could have been but this does not take from the schemes urban aspirations. Perhaps this is meant to encourage casual encounters between friendly neighbours and create safe supervised play areas for kids.
The assumption that the street is a defunct device in Dutch urban settlement and all we can hope for is endless semi dense suburbs where people live in isolated island clusters is pretty depressing to me. It also seems quite un-dutch in so many ways. Although an Island too it is surrounded by water instead of cars and on its interior is now engulfed in tall impenetrable hedges where residents live behind net curtains. The ever present hedge growth has created a more defined barrier between public and private space but now the intimate threshold spaces seem far too intimate in this context.
Perhaps a bit of a hedge cutting exercise could take place! Threshold spaces now too intimate without the once expansive views. Not only is it not tame and suburban but it announces its presence the moment you leave the Hague by its large Moscow style towers in a sea of two and three storey structures.
Once inside there is an impressive, even if sometimes dull network of streets all of which are inhabited by local businesses and supermarket chains much like any other high street. Good quality precast concrete bases, brick and concrete banding create a civic feeling and there are some nice architectural tricks too. Hi, my name is Peter and I live in Hackney. Initially, this site was supposed to be a brief portfolio of my architectural work but it has now turned into something like a blog.
