January 2012 a Winter School took place with 3 universities working at the business district 'Zuidas' Amsterdam. In 8 days students and almost 40 experts gave their opinion and worked on a strategic design at various levels of scale. The Winter School was organized by SITE urban development.

1. WINTER
SCHOOL
MAKING
ZUIDAS

3. MAKING CITY IS ABOUT
“The inevitable process of urbanization
presents a huge political, social, economic
and ecological challenge. At the same time,
cities offer solutions for the tasks that face
us in the 21st century.
The city is our future. But only if it is
designed, planned and managed better than
it is at present”

4. MAKING CITIES = MAKING
(THE) DIFFERENCE(S)
excellent business climate with optimal accessibility,
maximum deployment on our cities and urban regions
with an integral vision connecting:
disciplines (space, mobility and economy)
levels of scale (local, regional, national,
international)
actors (governments, executive organisations,
businesses, experts and civil society)
 ALLIANCES
 DESIGN

5. WHY ZUIDAS?

6. COLLABORATION IABR -
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
Atelier Making Projects: design research in alliances on 7 national projects
Zuidas as one of these in an alliance between:
- city of Amsterdam
- ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment
- SITE Urban Development
- three design schools and their students: Yale, AA, TUDelft
winterschool as ‘freezone’ for design research:
- with strong connection to the actors involved
- with strong universities internationally known and with different
specialisations (public-private / inside-outside, new working and living
environments, regional scale)
 designing on Zuidas as international top location

7. DESIGN RESEARCH ON
ZUIDAS
Zuidas: as an international business district, 6 minutes
from Schiphol, with high-speed-train connections, a
university around the corner, situated close the centre of
Amsterdam.
Design approach that reconciles the immediate reality and
opportunities of place, and the aspiration of long term
plans.

8. WINTER
SCHOOL

9. “Life is what happens to you, while
you're busy making other plans"
y
Malcolm Smith, supervising Architect Zuidas,
quoting John Lennon

10. MAIN QUESTION
How to develop a strategic framework with
it's spatial and programmatic implications,
that is resilient to uncertain future
developments and at the same time
provides and stimulates all the elements of a
vital urban centre right here and now

18. IN TOTAL
 3 Universities
 Architectural Association London
 Yale School of Architecture
 Delft University of Technology
 2 work locations
 World Trade Centre at Zuidas
 Academie van Bouwkunst
 9 lectures
 3 times presented for the reflection team
 Pro-action café (12 experts)
 5 visiting critics
 A total of 103 hrs of work in 8 days

19. FINAL RESULTS
 Present an intervention, embedded in a
strategy that answers to all scales, which
initiates action in a tangible, seductive and
provocative way.
 The presentation should explain itself in a
crystal clear way to all types of public and be
understood within 2 minutes.
 The presentation is allowed to be in any
shape and medium of communication.

20. 14 LESSONS LEARNED
WINTER SCHOOL MAKING
ZUIDAS:
1. Be pragmatic, simple messages
2. Stop the fixation on the DOK model and the railwaystation as being the
central problem
3. Strategic positioning: balance between technocentric and anthropocentric,
lateralisation, global platform. Don't compete globally with your physical
basis, think in terms of functions that strengthen the current position in the
knowledge intensive services and provide opportunities for these services in
the vicinity of Zuidas
4. What is the story of Zuidas in terms of future business. We are longing for a
charming Zuidas
5. Stop thinking of urban street life and urban blocks everywhere: open the
possibilities of new building typologies: strategies of infill, flexible typologies,
opening up building blocks, small scale interventions
6. Make the Zuidas part of the Amsterdam urban fabric
7. Develop from the fringes, attach to the urban fabric of Buitenveldert and
Amsterdam Zuid

21. 14 LESSONS LEARNED
WINTER SCHOOL MAKING
ZUIDAS:
1. Think of axes and routes: Beethovenstraat and Amstelveenseweg, East West
connections, a finer network of pedestrian and cyclist routes, mobility
solutions at different scales
2. Improve and develop these routes with the emphasis on street life, with
small scale interventions/landscape
3. Bring more people to the station area, prolong their stay through shopping,
brand stores etc.
4. More focus on developing strategic projects than on an overall strategy: RAI,
VU campus, Beatrix park, Olympic stadium
5. Start coalitions of investors and stakeholders: Schiphol, VU, RAI, private
investment. Develop and support civic initiatives
6. Rethink the rules of the game, the old ones definitely failed; stop with design
rules and zoning restrictions
7. What does the construction of the tunnel and Zuid as being wasteland mean
for liveability for the next ten years. Work on temporary projects.