Flexible work, flexible stay

Abstract

In the Netherlands - and indeed most of the Western world - the prospect of a shrinking population and decreasing economic growth appear to be the most pressing issues. Town planning can greatly contribute to a more sustainable world, and the means it needs to do so are at the heart of the discipline, in the form of rational zoning, that is, the design of urban patterns that minimize the need for traffic. "Densification" is often promoted as a means to achieve this - though, obviously, everything depends on where it occurs. Besides, in the future, the employment policy will be changed. More and more people will work more flexible especially the female employees and the elderly. Zuidas acting as a business district has to face the challenge of the transition of employment policy. And how is the old historic district like Oud Zuid going to change in the future under the change of employment policy? Under such circumstance, how to design a complex based on the city fabric which is more suitable for the future lifestyle is what I want to solve in this graduation project.

My project is to change an historical residential house into a living-working complex, providing public service like retails, library, exhibition, working space, etc. It is providing a possibility to solve the future problem: a growing number of people will become independent professionals and the urban nomads. Besides, it’s a trial of historical building’s renovation. I hope it could benefit to explore the means to reuse the heritage to meet the future demands.