THE GREEN HEART. WORLD IN BETWEEN CITIES

From Maartensdijk to Meerkerk and from Abcoude to Zoeterwoude: the Green Heart is a vast rural area surrounded by the largest Dutch cities. The Green Heart is home to seven hundred thousand people, surrounded by seven million more. The contrast in lifestyles is sometimes stark – city and countryside overlap, and it is this overlap that has brought prosperity to the Dutch Delta for four centuries. For city dwellers, the landscape of the Green Heart is a weekend destination; for residents, it is part of their identity. A thousand years ago, the Green Heart was a peatland wilderness. Step by step, pioneers reclaimed the marshes and brought the area under cultivation. In the twelfth century, the first waterworks were built because of the subsidence of the land. This book tells the story of the Green Heart and introduces the people who have shaped and coloured the landscape. The book also gives meaning and direction to today’s urgent challenges: subsidence, salinisation, water intake and discharge, drought problems, housing, nature and strengthening a healthy and attractive business climate. The question is not whether the landscape of the Green Heart will change, but how. This book tells the story of ten centuries of transformation. To buy the book go to: hetgroenehartboek.nl

LECTURE 'HEALING MODERNITY'

February 2024

Marinke delivered the lecture 'Healing Modernity' on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the Garden and Landscape Architecture program at Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in Velp.

PRESENTATION ON THE NIEUWE GROENMARKT AND KROCHT, HAARLEM

January 2024

In the magnificent Gravenzaal in the Haarlem City Hall, the co-creation program for the redevelopment of the Nieuwe Groenmarkt and Krocht was kicked off with a lecture by Vita on the history of this part of the city centre. For eight centuries, a high density of charitable institutions has been found here, providing compassion, inclusion and care to those in need. In the nineteenth century, the square was transformed into a street with a asphalt road and pavement, but it remains one of the largest open spaces in the densely built city centre.

LECTURE 'THE GENERATIONS OF GEUS: VALUED SOIL’

November 2023

Marinke presented the research 'The Generations of GEUS: valued soil’ at the Kulturhus Elspeet. The study focused on the cultural-historical and agricultural development and the lessons that can be learned from this for the Garderen-Elspeet-Uddel-Speuld area. Commissioned by the GEUS Area Approach. Watch the film recording of this story (only in Dutch): gebiedsaanpakgeus.nl.

LECTURE AT LET'S GRO FESTIVAL ON STADSPARK GRONINGEN

November 2023

Marinke presented the SteenhuisMeurs research on the ideas that shaped the Stadspark in Groningen at the Let's Gro Festival in the Groninger Forum. Commissioned by the Municipality of Groningen.

LECTURE 'KRANENBURG-NOORD IN EIGHT HISTORICAL THEMES', HARDERWIJK

November 2023

At the participation event of the Kranenburg-Noord redevelopment, Vita presented inspiring starting points for the redevelopment of the former military site in Harderwijk into a lively urban area.

LECTURE ON THE KEIZER KARELPLEIN, NIJMEGEN

October 2023

The Architectuurcentrum Nijmegen organized an event titled ‘Lucht voor de stadssingel’ focusing on the high levels of traffic on the most beautiful spots in the city. Paul elaborated on our research on the nineteenth-century urban expansion and the Keizer Karel Square. Examples from other cities demonstrated how it is possible to scale down traffic and prioritize the quality of public space in city centres.

LECTURE ON AREA-SPECIFIC PLANNING PROCESSES

September 2023

Marinke spoke at the farewell of Michiel Firet from Staatsbosbeheer about the importance of area-specific planning processes in rural areas. This approach requires a deep analysis of cultural history, mentality, and the relationship between government and citizens over the centuries. Commissioned by Staatsbosbeheer.

LECTURE FOR THE OUD-DEVENTER FOUNDATION

September 2023

The 110th anniversary of the Oud-Deventer Foundation prompted a symposium on young heritage, focusing on the flat neighbourhoods from the sixties and seventies. Interestingly, while the city of Deventer is a model for the preservation and management of its wonderful city centre, post-war heritage is still somewhat overlooked.

REFLECTION ON THE VREEWIJK VERBETERINGSPROGRAMMA

August 2023

At the Vreewijk Verbeteringsprogramma (Improvement Program) partner event, Marinke reflected on the advice given by SteenhuisMeurs and Lenka Hora Adema to the tenants' association, housing corporation Havensteder, and the municipality of Rotterdam – one of the recommendations being to celebrate your successes.

KEYNOTE LECTURE 'HERITAGE, A BROAD CONCEPT

December 2022

Marinke presented the research 'The Cultural History of Hezingen, Mander, Manderveen: the soil, the people, the landscape through the centuries' in Vasse (May) and in the Statenzaal of Overijssel (July). Commissioned by the Province of Overijssel. Watch the film recording of this story (Dutch only): youtube.com/watch?v=bGmEDubyQJs

KEYNOTE LECTURE 'HOW THE DUTCH DEAL WITH THEIR HISTORIC (URBAN) LANDSCAPES' FOR THE INSTITUTE OF HOUSING STUDIES ROTTERDAM

June 2023

The Institute of Housing Studies in Rotterdam has been organizing a course on Urban Heritage Strategies, with many professionals participating from distant countries with a historical link to the Netherlands, in the form of 'mutual heritage'. For this course, Paul gave the introductory keynote lecture 'how the Dutch deal with their historic (urban) landscapes'.

KEYNOTE LECTURE 'HERITAGE, A BROAD CONCEPT

December 2022

At the Alkmaar City Hall, Vita presented the biography of the Noordhollands Kanaal. The area biography can be found here (Dutch only): alkmaar.nl

LECTURE IN VEENHUIZEN

May 2023

At an international congress in Veenhuizen, Paul spoke about the cultural landscape of the Colonies of Benevolence.

LECTURE FOR THE NRP ACADEMY

May 2023

For the students of the Renovation and Transformation program of the National Renovation Platform (NRP), Vita gave a lecture on various projects of SteenhuisMeurs, and the products developed by the office over the past twenty years to contribute to spatial quality from a cultural-historical perspective.

LECTURE FOR THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT REAL ESTATE AGENCY

May 2023

During the Kennis Indoor session of the Central Government Real Estate Agency on the theme ‘All things of value are helpless’ (a title based on the well-known Lucebert quote), Paul elaborated on the Central Innovation District in The Hague. The session also focused on the applicability of transformation frameworks, for which SteenhuisMeurs and the RCE (Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency) have developed guidelines.

LECTURE 'OPPORTUNITIES FOR TEMPEL AND SCHIE'

April 2023

Marinke presented the research 'Opportunities for Tempel and Schie' regarding the Tempel estate along the Rotterdam Schie, as the introduction for a workshop with stakeholders on the future of this unique estate. Commissioned by Natuurmonumenten.

LECTURE ON THE MAASTUNNEL AND PARKHAVEN AT THE ACADEMIE VAN BOUWKUNST ROTTERDAM

April 2023

Vita presented the history of the Parkhaven, an area spatially linked to four national monuments: the Park, the Maastunnel, the Parksluizen, and the Euromast. She presented the spatial principles for development based on their heritage values to students of the Rotterdam Academy.

LECTURE 'THE LIVED CITY' IN ALMERE

March 2023

Marinke presented her research 'The Lived City' on the identity of Almere to a broad representation of officials from the municipality of Almere, as part of the lecture series 'The Future Begins Now.'

WORKSHOP ON TRANSFORMATION FRAMEWORKS IN HAARLEM

March 2023

Paul was asked to share our experiences with transformation frameworks. Based on case studies the municipality's administrators discussed how to practically incorporate heritage into spatial policies.

LECTURE ON HERITAGE IN OVERIJSSEL

March 2023

Marinke gave a lecture on heritage in Overijssel on the occasion of the farewell of provincial executive Roy de Witte at Landgoed het Laer Ommen. Commissioned by the province of Overijssel.

ONLINE COLLEGE TOUR ON THE PARLIAMENT BUILDING IN THE HAGUE

January 2023

Paul conducted an online 'College Tour' for the Royal Netherlands Institute of Engineers (KNOB) on the building of parliament in The Hague. Participants could ask questions about our research on this building and how its heritage values could be integrated into the transformation of the Binnenhof complex.

KEYNOTE LECTURE 'HERITAGE, A BROAD CONCEPT'

December 2022

At the Heritage Day in Overijssel, Marinke presented her keynote 'Heritage, a broad concept' on heritage development in urban and rural landscapes, with respect for unique values. Commissioned by the province of Overijssel.

LECTURE FOR LYSIAS

December 2022

At an office event of consultancy firm Lysias, Vita gave a lecture on the importance of understanding and empathizing with area-specific characteristics when advising on complex challenges.

OUR ETERNAL FIGHT AGAINST THE WATER: MARINKE IN DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE DELTA WORKS

presentation: Pieter-Jan Haegens
direction, research and production: Ronald Sistermans
camera: Thijs Aardema
sound: Youp de Bruijn
montage: Igor de Keijzer

Op 10 mei 2022 zond de NPO de documentaire ‘Onze eeuwige strijd tegen het water’ uit. Marinke wandelt hierin met interviewer Pieter-Jan Haegens over het Vuurtorenpad in de duinen van Schouwen, terwijl ze vertelt over de werkcultuur van de Deltadienst, de Deltawerken en de opgaven van vandaag en morgen.

Watch the documentary

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF LAND CONSOLIDATION (‘RUILVERKAVELING’) IN ALBLASSERWAARD, THE LARGEST LAND CONSOLIDATION AREA OF EUROPE

Our countryside is facing large challenges. In this, cultural history can give insight and play a reconciliating role. In June 2022 at the village of Noordeloos, Marinke presented our research into the history of land consolidation in Alblasserdam. In the sixties, this was the largest land consolidation project in Europe. Through the reorganisation of the land, many acres of valuable fen-meadows disappeared. Both the new parcellation and the way in which the farmers (mandatorily) consented gave the group of farmers, (provincial) advisors and administrators insight into the radical changes of the landscape and use of soil. In the sixties, there were protesting farmers on tractors as well, but at the time, they were protesting against the scaling up of the agricultural sector. This research project was commissioned by landscape architect Peter de Ruijter en the municipality of Molenlanden.

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LECTURE ‘LANDSCAPE IN LETTERS’ BY MARINKE STEENHUIS: TIME TRAVELING THROUGH 100 YEARS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Ten books, ten decades of landscape architecture. On Friday 18 november 2022, Marinke gave an unusual view on 100 years of landscape architecture, by discussing ten books that defined this field of study. The lecture took place at the office of Feddes/Olthof landscape architects in Utrecht. The lecture was the starting point for a new publication about the meaningful (international) books and treatises for landschape architects. Marinke invited NVTL-members and other practioners to make their own lists and share them with her – to make available the wonder of one century of reading to everyone. (photo Harma Horlings)

Listen to the lecture

THE DUTCH BRASILIAS

curator: SteenhuisMeurs
design: Beukers Scholma
made possible by: the Dutch ambassy in Brasil and Dutch Culture

In november 2022, the ambassador André Driessen opened the exhibition about The Dutch Brasílias at the National University of Brasília (UNB), dedicated to the Zuiderzeepolders. Over 60 years ago, Brasilia became the capital of Brazil. Brasília is unlike any other city in the world. The Brazilian capital bears a unique quality in its monumental modern architecture, urban layout, Brazilian landscape and the vocation of national capital. For its exceptional trajectory and appearance, Brasília’s Plano Piloto became listed as World Heritage as early as 1986. The ideas behind the urbanism and architecture of Brasília have a universal dimension. The same ideas were the basis for urban extensions and the construction of New Towns and cities around the world.

In the large land reclamations of the Zuiderzee, the Dutch could realize their utopias without compromise just like Brasilia. The so-called Zuiderzeewerken shaped a New World on the old continent. The Dutch reclaimed the land and subsequently had to build up a complete society on the bottom of the (former) sea. There are similarities between the Dutch polders and Brasília (Plano Piloto and Cidades Satelites), but there are also striking differences. The youngest city in the polders, Almere, started as a dormitory town for nearby Amsterdam and now is one of the largest cities in the country. The central location and short distances made the New World of the Zuiderzeepolders complementary to the Old World of the Netherlands, in particular to the region around Amsterdam. And Almere Oosterwold, where inhabitants have total freedom, and responsibility, will remind Brazilians of the favelas, where the municipality is also completely absent when it comes to urban planning.

At the opening of the exhibition, UNB organised a colloquium, discussing how to deal with the inheritance and heritage of the pioneers of the Netherlands and Brazil.

PODCAST ‘DE ARCHITECT: MEREL EN TRACY PRATEN DOOR’
ABOUT BUILDING(S) WITH HISTORY

In this podcast episode, Vita Teunissen talks with Merel Pit and Tracy Metz. How to build upon what is already there? Cultural heritage values are not necessarily obstructions for designers. They can help in developing a meaningful future for our buildings and cities. The podcast episode zooms in on Post65 heritage, on retracing original design ideas, and on the relationship between people and heritage. Herman Hertzberger is also part of the podcast. Together, they spoke about collectivity and liveability in buildings.

Listen here

VITA NOMINATED MONUMENT TALENT AWARD 2022

In 2022, Vita Teunissen was one of the three nominees of the Monument Talent Award. This award was initiated by the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, to ‘stimulate rejuvenation and renewal in the field of cultural heritage’. In this video, Vita introduces herself as one of the finalistst of the award.

Watch the video here