The interwoven city
Reconnecting the social fabric to the layered urban heritage landscape of the Stadsdriehoek
L.A. Ellens (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
G.A Verschuure – Mentor (TU Delft - Landscape Architecture)
Maurice Harteveld – Mentor (TU Delft - Urban Design)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
This graduation thesis explores how urban green spaces can contribute to enhancing public spaces
as connectors to the social fabric within the Stadsdriehoek of Rotterdam. The project critically
addresses how processes of globalization and homogenization have diminished spatial identity,
historical layering and emotional attachment within highly controlled urban public spaces. Using the theoretical framework of place attachment - consisting of physical, social and mental dimensions - this thesis applies these aspects as a landscape layer approach to analyze the urban landscape of the Stadsdriehoek.
Through the methods landscape biography, use and activity analysis and the narrative approach,
the case study reveals how the loss of historical legibility, infrastructural dominance and rationalized design have reduced opportunities for meaningful place attachment. The project proposes urban green spaces as mediators that reconnect the (lost) historical layers through legibility and diversify social uses while embedding collective and personal narratives into the urban landscape. A conceptual vision for the Stadsdriehoek is developed, followed by two speculative small scale designs reflecting opposite conditions: one emphasizing collective, public narratives at Plein 1940, and another focusing on personal, neighborhood narratives at Achterklooster. These designs illustrate how landscape interventions can serve as adaptive frameworks that foster attachment landscapes, allowing public space to become more socially, emotionally and historically meaningful.