Highway & City

‘Highway & City, More quality of life and environment’ is a design study initiated by the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects (BNA) and Delft University of Technology / DIMI from BNA Community of Practice - Infrastructure. 
This design study explores, based on design research, possibilities and opportunities to improve the relationship between highway and city regarding the  quality of life, accessibility and land use in a future of automated transport, based on recent scenarios by Institute for Transport Policy (KIM) and the Ministry of Infrastructures and the Environment.

Seven professional, multidisciplinary office teams (including architects, urban designers, landscape architects, traffic engineers) study the five cases around the beltway of

• Amsterdam (transformation road connecting A10 to city boulevards)
• Rotterdam (spatial opportunities on A20 / Kethelplein-Terbregseplein and A13 / Overschie) and
• Utrecht (accessibility and urban connection of Science Park).

It is attended by reputable agencies including UNStudio, Benthem Crouwel, Mecanoo, Venhoeven CS, Mauroparavicini, Goudappel-Coffeng and Sweco (former Grondmij).

Scientists from the TU Delft concentrate on the development of possible concepts and notions for these internationally relevant themes. TU Delft is participating in  education through workshops and as a final project in this study.
In addition to the BNA and TU Delft these stakeholders are actively and financially involved: Ministry of Infrastructures and the Environment (DG Accessibility, DG Environment and Water, DG Rijkswaterstaat), the municipalities Amsterdam (Division Space & Sustainability), Rotterdam (Urban Development), Utrecht (Division Urban Development and Planning), and the Province of Utrecht (Division Environmental Quality, Strategic Spatial Development). All stakeholders participate in the counselling group for the duration of the study (Febr.-June 2016).
Government Advisor on Infrastructure and Urban, Rients Dijkstra monitors this study closely because it is a continuation of an earlier study "Towards a healthy relationship between city and highway “ of Atelier Rijksbouwmeester and WEST 8. Next to that, he is also developing an agenda to ask more attention to an integrated approach of infrastructure and space (use) in the view of national vision and structural environment, which will be shifted in time together.

In the meantime, the book presentation has taken place - you can read a report and photos here.

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