Towards a coherent urban narrative
creating spatial and historical continuity on 'T Eiland in Vlissingen
E.G. Wempe (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
L.P.J. van den Burg – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
G.A. Verschuure-Stuip – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
This thesis demonstrates how heritage can guide urban design through a redesign for ‘t Eiland in Vlissingen. Heritage is approached as an interpretable tool to establish spatial and historical continuity in contemporary urban transformations. These two concepts are of great importance in a peripheral city such as Vlissingen, where issues of fragmentation and identity are present.
In order to understand the context of the problem, first the general history of the city is examined. This reveals that the city has a rich and diverse history, which is no longer clearly legible in the city. Only fragments of the various historical layers are still visible, making it impossible for the user to read the story of the city. The latest historical layer, the city as a shipbuilding city, is explained in more detail to provide a more comprehensive picture of the dominance of this industry and its significance for the city. The disappearance of shipbuilding from the city in the middle of the last century not only left a major economic and social mark on the city, but also left the urban fabric with large voids. These voids are now slowly filled with housing development plans, where the historical shipbuilding layer could only become visible in fragments as well.
The only active remnant of shipbuilding in the city is located on ‘t Eiland, a district between the historic city center and the train station, where luxury yachts are built by ‘Damen Yachting’. Now that this district is also scheduled for redevelopment in the coming decades, this last active link to shipbuilding in the city might disappear. The area is under pressure because a primary flood defense requires reinforcement and there is a potential growing conflict between shipbuilding and living, which exist close to each other. But it was precisely this coexistence that was so characteristic for the city. In order to create historical continuity, a solution will be sought to combine these functions.
Heritage hould not negate the current qualities of the site. That is why, prior to the historical analysis of ‘t Eiland, an analysis of the current situation is conducted. The public space, morphology, infrastructure, and buildings are examined in order to determine which spatial qualities should not be lost in a redesign. The relatively short history of ‘T Eiland shows that it was heavily bombed during the Second World War, creating a sharp division in the story of the site: before and after the war. Typological historical research is conducted to analyze the situation before the Second World War and to map existing and lost historical elements and values. On the one hand, these provide starting points for making the story of ‘t Eiland legible in a redesign and, on the other hand, they provide spatial qualities that can be reintroduced.
Finally, a redesign for ‘t Eiland is presented, in which current qualities and historical values are combined. In this redesign, a solution has been found to allow shipbuilding and living to coexist and become part of the story of ´T Eiland. This could prevent this layer from becoming illegible in the city in the future.