Molenwijk is part of the Dutch heritage of post-WWII urban planning. Built in 1968, the plan consists of 1,256 dwellings in 15 slabs, each cluster of four centered around a parking garage that once promised social interaction. Nearly 60 years later, the garages are inaccessible a
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Molenwijk is part of the Dutch heritage of post-WWII urban planning. Built in 1968, the plan consists of 1,256 dwellings in 15 slabs, each cluster of four centered around a parking garage that once promised social interaction. Nearly 60 years later, the garages are inaccessible and dilapidated. This design seeks to fulfill the social promise of the Molenwijk Plan by reimagining one garage as the civic heart of the neighbourhood. It is treated as if it were a monument, preserving half its original function while transforming the rest into a civic center facing a market square. By layering new programmes onto the structure, the project honours the memory of the car without erasing it. Step-downs in scale reintroduce the human dimension. A modern interpretation of the classical Greek temple offers orientation within the abstract plan, while appropriable surfaces and adaptable features invite future users to shape the space as their own.
