The conservation of Modernist urban ensembles : Case studies from Amsterdam.

Authors

  • Nicholas Clarke TU Delft

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7480/iphs.2016.5.1310

Abstract

Urban Conservation, notably in Western Europe, grew from a reaction to the Modernist project; not so much as response to its large monofunctional sub-urban expansion projects, but more so to its attempts at rationalising messy multifunctional historic inner cities. Conservationists responded to these functionally segregated overtures by celebrating the diversity and multi-layered character of the historic city. The urban conservation approach was eventually codified in the 1975 Declaration of Amsterdam. In the Netherlands the urban conservation approach found its most clear expression in the ‘Stads-’ and ‘Stedelijke’ (town- and city renewal) processes of the last quarter of the Twentieth Century. 
At the time that the ‘Stadsvernieuwing’ reached its peak a new dynamic was emerging: an awakening appreciation of Modernist peri-urban social housing estates, built according to the principles of ‘Het Nieuwe Bouwen’ (The New Building). The period of transition from traditional architecture and urbanism to the complete acceptance of the Modernist project was being reappraised. Many of the projects selected through a governmental inventorying and selection process were located in neighbourhoods, which had by the time of their selection as monuments, become problem areas. In Amsterdam, the western garden suburbs – the Interbellum and post-War housing neighbourhood, designed for the most part by Cornelis van Eesteren, an active participant and chair of the Congrès Internationaux d’Architecture Moderne (CIAM) from 1930–1947 – was such an area. The first break with the Amsterdam tradition of perimeter housing blocks occurred here at Landlust, where three new linear-block social housing projects were constructed between 1932 and 1938. The plan of one of these, designed by architects Gerrit Versteeg sr. and jr., was duplicated during the last years of the Second World War in Bosleeuw, a location in close vicinity to the first Landlust project. 
How has the urban renewal of these Modernist utopias been attempted? A crucial obstacle to be overcome by conservationists was that of public opinion. The historic city centres have proven their worth as identity-delivery resources that stimulate creative industries, free-time consumption and tourism, obviating the need to justify conservation efforts. These drivers are absent from the Modernist Amsterdam Western Garden Suburbs (‘Westelijke Tuinsteden’). 
The two Versteeg blocks, owned by two different social housing corporations, have been upgraded in two remarkably different manners during the last 8 years. The first had been listed as municipal monument, the other not. This paper will present the approach to the problem of urban renewal of the areas in which these large-scale, monotone housing projects are located, through firstly creating a socially acceptable narrative and focusing on those qualities that make their areas unique: a re-interpretation and repackaging of their original utopian ambitions in the new social objectives of energetic sustainability. This has taken the place of the incentive for the traditional urban conservation actions.
This paper will explore the challenges the conservation of Modernist utopian townscapes present and illustrate some of the similarities and divergent approaches to urban conservation of historic urban centres.

References

Bolhuis, Gijs, Helene Hartman, Erik Mattie, Renate Meijer, Marinus Oostenbrink, Marina Roosebeek, Jeroen Schilt, and Vladimir Stissi. De Atlas Gordel: 20-40. Amsterdam: Stedelijke Woningdienst Amsterdam, 2000.

Damen, Tom. “Bouwstop in De Hele Stad,” Het Parool, 2 July 2010.

De Vreeze, Noud, and Coosje Berkelbach. 6,5 Miljoen Woningen: 100 Jaar Woningwet en Wooncultuur in Nederland. Rotterdam: Uitgeverij 010, 2001.

Duiker, J. “Naar Aanleiding van de Niewue Bebouwingswijze in het Uitbreidingsplan “Landlust” in Amsterdam-West.” De 8 en Opbouw 4, no. 19 (1933): 165-68.

Ecorys Nederland. Evaluatie Investeringsbudget Stedelijke Vernieuwing 2000 T/M 2004 (Isv1). Rotterdam: Ministerie van VROM, 2006.

Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsdeel Nieuw-West. Vernieuwing Slotermeer: Door in Een Ander Tempo. Amsterdam: Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsdeel Nieuw-West, 2011.

Hereijgers, A., M. Pflug, G. Wallagh, E. van Velzen. De Naoorlogse Stad: Een Hedendaagse Ontwerpopgave. Rotterdam: NAi, 2001.

Kleinhans, RJ, Lex Veldboer, Wenda Doff, SJT Jansen, and M Van Ham. Terugblikken en Vooruitkijken in Hoogvliet: 15 Jaar Stedelijke Vernieuwing en de Effecten op Wonen, Leefbaarheid en Sociale Mobiliteit. Delft: Delft University of Technology, 2014.

Kuipers, Marieke. “Dutch Conversations in Conservation.” In Eine Zukunft Für Unsere Vergangenheit: Zum 40. Jubiläum Des Europäisches Denkmalschutzjahres (1975 - 2015)/A Future for Our Past: The 40th Anniversary of European Architectural Heritage Year (1975 - 2015), edited by Michael Falser and Wilfrid Lipp, 238–48. Berlin: Bäßler, 2015.

Kuipers, Marieke. “Een Weerbarstig Onderzoeksveld Ontgonnen.” In Jaarboek Monumentenzorg 1994. Monumenten Van Een Nieuwetijd. Architectuur En Stedebouw 1850-1940, edited by Y. Attema and R. K. M. Blijdenstijn. Zwolle: Waanders 1994.

Ministerie van Volkhuisvesting Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer. Nota over de Stads- en Dorpsvernieuwing. Den Haag: Ministerie van Volkhuisvesting Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer, 1981.

Ministerie van Volkshuisvesting Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer. Nota Stedelijke Vernieuwing. Den Haag: Ministerie van Voklshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer, 1997.

Ministerie van Volkhuisvesting Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer. Stadsvernieuwing Gemeten : KWR 2000 Maakt Balans Op. Den Haag: Ministerie van Volkhuisvesting Ruimtelijke Ordening en Milieubeheer, 2002.

Musterd, S., and H.F.L. Ottens. Strijd om de Stad: Sociale en Economische Integratie in de Stedelijke Samenleving. Assen: Van Gorcum, 2002.

Priemus, Hugo, and Gerard Metselaar. Urban Renewal Policy in a European Perspective: An International Comparative Analysis. Delft University Press, 1992.

Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg. Handleiding Inventarisatie Jongere Bouwkunst en Stedebouw (1850-1940). Zeist: Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg, 1987.

Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg. Handleiding Selectie en Registratie Jongere Stedebouw en Bouwkunst (1850-1940). Zeist: Rijksdienst voor de Monumentenzorg, 1991.

Vereniging Promotie Westelijke Tuinsteden ProWest. De Bouwstop als kans voor het Amsterdamse Erfgoed. Open letter to the City of Amsterdam Municipal Council. Amsterdam: 2010. Accessed February 2016. http://www.prowest.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=29

Van Dun, Peter. “Vijftig Jaar Stedenbouwkundige Monumentenzorg.” In In Dienst Van Het Erfgoed, edited by Peter Don. Zwolle: Waanders, 2004.

Van Dun, Peter, and Rob Docter. The Urban Heritage as a Cultural, Social and Economic Asset. A Concise Manual to Planning the Existing Urban Environment. The Hague: The Ministry of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs, 1993.

Vereniging Eigen Haard. De Koningsvrouwen Van Landlust. Nieuwsbrief. Vol. 2, Amsterdam: Vereniging Eigen Haard, 2008. Newsletter.

Vereniging Eigen Haard. De Koningsvrouwen Van Landlust. Nieuwsbrief. Vol. 8, Amsterdam: Vereniging Eigen Haard, 2011. Newsletter.

Vereniging Eigen Haard. Reactie Eigen Haard Op Uitreiking Zwarte Bokaal. Accessed February, 2016. http://www.opennieuwsbank.nl/bericht/2005/11/30/E077-eigen-haard.html.

Downloads

Published

2016-06-30

How to Cite

Clarke, N. (2016). The conservation of Modernist urban ensembles : Case studies from Amsterdam. International Planning History Society Proceedings, 17(5). https://doi.org/10.7480/iphs.2016.5.1310