This paper examines the valuation and perception of de Hoeksteen, a heritage building in the Netherlands. Expert stakeholders, such as the municipality and architecture historian Joop van Stigt, value the building for its aesthetic qualities and historical significance. In contrast, users of the building, particularly the community organization Casa Migrante, value it for its social value. However, the local community, who have little knowledge of the building’s current use, perceive it as unattractive and lacking in value. The paper suggests that this discrepancy highlights the need for a participatory approach to bridge the gap between stakeholders and foster greater appreciation for the building’s potential. The paper also draws on the works of Timothy Hyde and Roger Scruton to explore the relationship between architecture, perception, and imagination, and to contextualize the social and cultural factors that shape our judgments of architectural value.

This thesis is written after reviewing the UNESCO nomination report for the New Dutch Waterline (NDW). in the report and other literature regarding the NDW there is a very dominant blind spot regarding the vegetation and its historical value. This thesis tries to albeit in a modest way address this gap in the literature by setting the first steps of doing an analysis trying to answer the question: what is the historical value of the vegetation around fort Rhijnauwen. To arrive at a complete understanding of the landscape, the vegetation and being able to interpret these, the research will introduce the term genius loci as described by Schulz. After this the thesis will start on the general aspects of the NDW, zooming in per chapter on the topic of vegetation and the specific case study fort Rhijnauwen. The conclusion is that many of the described stages of history are upon closer inspection indeed readable in the landscape of the case study, giving it historic significance, the depth of the analysis however is limited and further or more detailed research could lead to an even better understanding of the landscape.