SteenhuisMeurs produces a great number of landscape biographies and narratives. Stories about the landscape and the people, about the use of the soil and the emergence of mentality. These are stories that provide interpretation, comfort and frequently also a mirror; in previous generations, too, there were major challenges, a search for solutions. The biographies and narratives are always based on archive research and a multitude of sources, ranging from the National Archives to the Meertens Institute, from the Central Bureau of Statistics to thematic discussion salons in the area concerned. The focus is always on critical interpretation, assignment analysis and recommendations for further development. Because every area has a different degree of urbanisation pressure, different landscape types and consequently a different loading capacity for new developments.

CASE 1

ARTIS AMSTERDAM ROYAL ZOO

Cultural heritage assessment and Quality Team

On behalf of SteenhuisMeurs, Marinke is a member of the Quality Team of Artis. If there is one place where the term palimpsest (a rewritable piece of parchment) applies, it is Artis. Ever since its establishment in 1838, amidst former country houses, the zoological garden has been in almost continuous transformation. This unique layering of time and the sequential landscaping concepts were not properly researched. A better understanding of the historical development provides a framework and inspiration for the many changes that Artis is continuously going through. The Amsterdam City Archives preserves the majority of the Artis archive, but the zoo itself also holds a substantial amount of undocumented papers and drawings, spread out over several of its buildings. For every section of the zoo, these documents are now brought together, resulting in a fascinating illustrated storyline of almost 200 years of Amsterdam history.

Artis, Amsterdam

CASE 2

NIJMEGEN HEYENDAAL

Cultural heritage assessment

commissioned by the municipality of Nijmegen

The Radboud University in Nijmegen was founded in 1923 as the first Catholic university in the Netherlands. The ambitions were significant, Catholics from across the country provided the necessary funds. From 1949 onwards, three architectural teams worked on the development of a campus on the country estate Heyendaal. Bouwbureau Heyendaal, led by architect Jan van der Laan, designed the medical faculty based on the principles of the Bossche School. Architect Frits Peutz was responsible for the beta faculties, while Kraaijvanger Architects designed the alpha faculties. The cohesion between the different sections was provided by the landscape designs of Pieter Buys and Bob van der Vliet. Campus Heyendaal became a varied ensemble of buildings, designed with great attention to the integration in the landscape, spatial experience and transitions. In addition to the functional and expressive aspects, the design also focused on the monumental, ceremonial, and sacral, which were essential for Catholic ideology. Commissioned by the municipality of Nijmegen and the campus partners, SteenhuisMeurs analysed the campus and wrote about the underlaying design principles, providing input for redevelopment plans of the campus real estate partners.

Nijmegen

CASE 3

THE GREEN HEART

Landscape biography

commissioned by Bestuurlijk Platform Groene Hart

Since 2021, the Green Heart between Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht has been a focal area in the National Strategy on Spatial Planning and the Environment (NOVI). Many challenges which require consideration on the scale of the Green Heart come together in a dynamic process: land subsidence, urbanisation, nitrogen emissions, soil salinity, solar and wind energy and – more widely – the quality of the Dutch living environment. These are issues that cannot be solved sectorially. They require a combined and balanced approach. In order to make decisions on both a political and an administrative level, there is a need for more knowledge, contextualisation and overall direction. The landscape biography of the Green Heart supports this process. It consists of three parts. A connecting story from a cultural heritage perspective, from the long lines of the past to the present and the future, helps as a first step in bringing the shared interests in the Green Heart together. Without a story, ‘landscape’ remains abstract and lacks connection to the greater whole. Without a family line, mutual interests cannot be comprehended. In part 2, the cultural heritage values of the Green Heart landscape are identified in a heritage assessment map. In part 3, golden rules for the further development of the spatial qualities of the Green Heart are formulated. The landscape biography functions as a starting point for the rising challenges. In five online films, the landscape biographies of the Green Heart and its three subsections are told and the heritage assessment map is explained. In 2023, we published the book The Green Heart. World in between cities, which can be ordered here: hetgroenehartboek.nl

Het Groene Hart