A New Neighborhood From Scratch in the Netherlands

A new district rises on the decommissioned Ypenburg Nato airfield in the Netherlands. Master planners Rapp & Rapp worked with other architects and developers to create a cohesive whole with slight variations, a “conditioning of difference."

1 minute read

August 16, 2008, 1:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur

"The new district, Ypenburg, is conceived as an urban field between the cities of Delft and The Hague. It comprises a linear framework of public spaces, with different "fields" in between.

Masterplanner Frits Palmboom has said of it: "The framework creates urban conditions that will only later be cashed by the architecture. But this framework is more than just a grid of lines and public space. It possesses its own architectural dimension as well, a tangible form".

Palmboom's framework is strongly designed and makes hardly any use of the relics of the former military landscape. Only the former runway can be recognised and then merely in a metaphorical sense: a trace of the landing strip's footprint is inscribed in the plan, but the reinforced concrete monster itself has gone."

FULL STORY: Rapp & Rapp’s cutting-edge normality

Friday, August 15, 2008 in bd

Architecture Land Use Europe Military Bases

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Start Learning

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.