Amsterdam public space: constantly in motion
Summary
Text: Hans Fuchs
Amsterdam’s public space is moving with the times, spurred on by new design insights, municipal policy, and the wishes of users. Marianne Griffioen worked as a landscape and public space designer for 38 years, with her career in the nation’s capital starting in 2001. In this edition of Plan Amsterdam, she reflects on this period of her life. Jakoba Mulder also witnessed the evolution of public space during her time with Stadsontwikkeling from 1930 to 1965 as designer, head of design and head of department. Linda Vlassenrood is doing doctoral research on Mulder and joins her to discuss urban green space, which at the time was an unexplored field. Designer Ziega van den Berk, from the Must agency, mainly looks to the future. She urges her design colleagues to slow down: ‘We need to pay much more attention to the consequences of a design.’
In dialogue
Jakoba Mulder (1900-1988), who designed that very Amsterdam Forest, also had a long career at the City of Amsterdam. In 1930, she was the first woman architect to join the Stadsontwikkeling (Urban Development) department . Mulder was part of the team that drew up the General Expansion Plan for Amsterdam under the direction of Cornelis van Eesteren. Mulder went on to succeed Van Eesteren twice: as the first female head of design in 1952, and then as the first female head of department in 1958. Mulder continued to work at Stadsontwikkeling until her retirement in 1965.
During her career, Jakoba Mulder tried out various ideas for new types of subdivision and new roles for the city’s public green spaces. For example, in 1949 she introduced a successful new courtyard subdivision in the garden village of Frankendaal in Watergraafsmeer, consisting of a shared garden enclosed by two L-shaped blocks of two-story duplex houses. Towards the end of her career, the plans for the Bijlmermeer did not appeal to her; in her opinion, the buildings were too tall, the green spaces too expansive and vacant. Despite this, as head of the Stadsontwikkeling section in 1965, she fully supported the plan: ‘A passionate belief in collaboration and a constant desire to present a united front kept me from voicing my criticism.’
Marianne Griffioen describes Buiteneiland, the future green outpost of IJburg phase 2, as the highlight of her career. In her position as chief landscape and public space designer for the City of Amsterdam, Griffioen was responsible for designing the main structure of that outpost between 2019 and 2023.
Griffioen retired recently, on 1 June, after witnessing many changes during her long design career. For starters, in the city itself: ‘Amsterdam has transitioned from punk hairstyles to oat milk.’ And her profession changed accordingly, with the urban tapestry giving way to public space, and design becoming a multidisciplinary, integrated field. Policy became a tool for to restoring long linesand public green space became the urban fabric. And: ‘In turn, city-dwellers developed a growing appreciation of nature and landscapes.’
Griffioen describes Buiteneiland as representative of the changes she has witnessed over the course of her career: ‘When it comes to Buiteneiland, it’s almost no longer possible to call it public space; instead, it’s a natural and park landscape. The efforts of a great team of urban planners, landscape architects, ecologists, hydrologists, planners and civil engineers have made Buiteneiland what it is today: 42 hectares of green space freed up for nature, culture and sports. Not just for IJburg residents, but for everyone else in the city too.’
The ultimate aim is for the nature and landscapes close to Amsterdam to be linked to the city’s own cultural landscape. Griffioen: ‘In essence, Buiteneiland is superb nature 45 minutes away by bike from equally superb culture. It has all of the elements necessary to eventually make it as important to the city as the Vondelpark and the Amsterdam Forest.’
Complicit design
Complicit design, non-human life and more-than-human voices, global disruption, delay; anyone listening to landscape architect Ziega van den Berk will learn different terms and concepts than those used by most of her colleagues. These new words for a new world arise from her fundamentally critical attitude. Van den Berk calls upon designers to carefully consider the potential consequences of a design – both on site and globally – and whether those consequences are either desirable or acceptable. For example, does our sustainable energy transition justify the mining of resources in other parts of the world, particularly when it comes with consequences such as environmental damage and human trafficking? Van den Berk coined the term ‘complicit design’ for this purpose.
Landscape architect Ziega van den Berk asks design colleagues to slow down: ‘Right from the start, we need to pay much more attention to the consequences of a plan.’ When it comes to urban public spaces, this means reflecting on the task and paying attention to matters such as designing for everyone, including non-human life. Van den Berk: ‘As a designer, I try to create conditions under which natural processes can flourish. And when designing urban public spaces, I question every design choice: “Who is this intervention intended for? For whom are we designing? Is there room to accommodate other beings as well?”’
Van den Berk believes that designers should aim to create a more porous urban environment that includes holes, nooks and crannies: ‘It helps to think of the city as a natural environment, a succession of solid urban biotopes that also provide for matters such as climate adaptation and heat stress. And that’s a win-win-win, so make it a priority!’
Actually creating these nature-inclusive, wild places in the city, however, is quite a challenge, says Ziega Van den Berk: ‘Making the city porous often takes a lot of heavy lifting in terms of getting clients, architects and urban planners to listen and go along with the idea. A scoring system is often used in nature-inclusive projects, but you should actually be motivated by wanting to make a genuine contribution. And that desire has to be a much greater part of our basic attitude.’
Amsterdam public space: constantly in motion
Summary
Contents
Text: Hans Fuchs
Amsterdam’s public space is moving with the times, spurred on by new design insights, municipal policy, and the wishes of users. Marianne Griffioen worked as a landscape and public space designer for 38 years, with her career in the nation’s capital starting in 2001. In this edition of Plan Amsterdam, she reflects on this period of her life. Jakoba Mulder also witnessed the evolution of public space during her time with Stadsontwikkeling from 1930 to 1965 as designer, head of design and head of department. Linda Vlassenrood is doing doctoral research on Mulder and joins her to discuss urban green space, which at the time was an unexplored field. Designer Ziega van den Berk, from the Must agency, mainly looks to the future. She urges her design colleagues to slow down: ‘We need to pay much more attention to the consequences of a design.’
In dialogue
Jakoba Mulder (1900-1988), who designed that very Amsterdam Forest, also had a long career at the City of Amsterdam. In 1930, she was the first woman architect to join the Stadsontwikkeling (Urban Development) department . Mulder was part of the team that drew up the General Expansion Plan for Amsterdam under the direction of Cornelis van Eesteren. Mulder went on to succeed Van Eesteren twice: as the first female head of design in 1952, and then as the first female head of department in 1958. Mulder continued to work at Stadsontwikkeling until her retirement in 1965.
During her career, Jakoba Mulder tried out various ideas for new types of subdivision and new roles for the city’s public green spaces. For example, in 1949 she introduced a successful new courtyard subdivision in the garden village of Frankendaal in Watergraafsmeer, consisting of a shared garden enclosed by two L-shaped blocks of two-story duplex houses. Towards the end of her career, the plans for the Bijlmermeer did not appeal to her; in her opinion, the buildings were too tall, the green spaces too expansive and vacant. Despite this, as head of the Stadsontwikkeling section in 1965, she fully supported the plan: ‘A passionate belief in collaboration and a constant desire to present a united front kept me from voicing my criticism.’
Marianne Griffioen describes Buiteneiland, the future green outpost of IJburg phase 2, as the highlight of her career. In her position as chief landscape and public space designer for the City of Amsterdam, Griffioen was responsible for designing the main structure of that outpost between 2019 and 2023.
Griffioen retired recently, on 1 June, after witnessing many changes during her long design career. For starters, in the city itself: ‘Amsterdam has transitioned from punk hairstyles to oat milk.’ And her profession changed accordingly, with the urban tapestry giving way to public space, and design becoming a multidisciplinary, integrated field. Policy became a tool for to restoring long linesand public green space became the urban fabric. And: ‘In turn, city-dwellers developed a growing appreciation of nature and landscapes.’
Griffioen describes Buiteneiland as representative of the changes she has witnessed over the course of her career: ‘When it comes to Buiteneiland, it’s almost no longer possible to call it public space; instead, it’s a natural and park landscape. The efforts of a great team of urban planners, landscape architects, ecologists, hydrologists, planners and civil engineers have made Buiteneiland what it is today: 42 hectares of green space freed up for nature, culture and sports. Not just for IJburg residents, but for everyone else in the city too.’
The ultimate aim is for the nature and landscapes close to Amsterdam to be linked to the city’s own cultural landscape. Griffioen: ‘In essence, Buiteneiland is superb nature 45 minutes away by bike from equally superb culture. It has all of the elements necessary to eventually make it as important to the city as the Vondelpark and the Amsterdam Forest.’
Complicit design
Complicit design, non-human life and more-than-human voices, global disruption, delay; anyone listening to landscape architect Ziega van den Berk will learn different terms and concepts than those used by most of her colleagues. These new words for a new world arise from her fundamentally critical attitude. Van den Berk calls upon designers to carefully consider the potential consequences of a design – both on site and globally – and whether those consequences are either desirable or acceptable. For example, does our sustainable energy transition justify the mining of resources in other parts of the world, particularly when it comes with consequences such as environmental damage and human trafficking? Van den Berk coined the term ‘complicit design’ for this purpose.
Landscape architect Ziega van den Berk asks design colleagues to slow down: ‘Right from the start, we need to pay much more attention to the consequences of a plan.’ When it comes to urban public spaces, this means reflecting on the task and paying attention to matters such as designing for everyone, including non-human life. Van den Berk: ‘As a designer, I try to create conditions under which natural processes can flourish. And when designing urban public spaces, I question every design choice: “Who is this intervention intended for? For whom are we designing? Is there room to accommodate other beings as well?”’
Van den Berk believes that designers should aim to create a more porous urban environment that includes holes, nooks and crannies: ‘It helps to think of the city as a natural environment, a succession of solid urban biotopes that also provide for matters such as climate adaptation and heat stress. And that’s a win-win-win, so make it a priority!’
Actually creating these nature-inclusive, wild places in the city, however, is quite a challenge, says Ziega Van den Berk: ‘Making the city porous often takes a lot of heavy lifting in terms of getting clients, architects and urban planners to listen and go along with the idea. A scoring system is often used in nature-inclusive projects, but you should actually be motivated by wanting to make a genuine contribution. And that desire has to be a much greater part of our basic attitude.’
