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Reimagining the 1970s postwar neighbourhoods
Name
Jildou Klaske Roelinde Wassenaar
Education degree
Kandidat
Fagfelt
Architecture
Institute
Architecture, Urbanism and Landscape
Program
Urbanism and Societal Change
Year
2026
Reimagining the 1970s postwar neighbourhoods
In response to the Dutch housing shortage, met by plans to build 10 new cities and and the widespread demolition of post-war neighbourhoods, this project proposes densification as an alternative. By adding homes, activating ground floors, and defining the spaces between buildings, it strengthens existing social structures rather than replacing them.
The map that justifies demolition: How the neighborhood is perceived
What if we strengthen the social structures instead of demolishing them?
The variation that planners say is missing is already there
The urban concept
The design is built up in four layers, each one responding directly to the analysis. Starting from the spaces between the buildings, then enclosing them with new volumes, then connecting them with a network of roads, and finally assigning each cluster a distinct identity based on what was already found there.
Adding density as a counterproposal to demolition
The additions react to the scale of the connected existing building, the scale of the public zone, and its surroundings
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The architectural outcomes
New spatial qualities arise, for both the existing and the new residents
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The Royal Danish Academy supports the Sustainable Development Goals
Since 2017 the Royal Danish Academy has worked with the Sustainable Development Goals. This is reflected in our research, our teaching and in our students’ projects. This project relates to the following UN goal(-s)
