Transformation of 'Het Plofbos'

Abstract

The Plofbos has a strong character that is defined by the presence of a young forest that springs from the remains of a decomposing military structure. This new growth is dynamic. It continuously changes the light, smells, sight-lines and experiences throughout the seasons. Together with the diversity of open and enclosed spaces and the sense of “untidiness”, the forest possesses countless surprising sight-lines and secrets. The silent, decaying buildings are the memory of the forest, revealing its age by time-layers of buildings like the annual rings of a tree. They are testaments to its former function with their interiors yet secluded from the outside world, harbouring the spirits of the place and has one wonder about the stories the walls would tell if they could.. This unique forest stirs the imagination, sense of discovery and invites to explore. Therefore it seems natural that the first pioneers of the creative industry have settled in this area because much like the forest, they prosper best in a regulation-free area. By colonising and organically changing the place into a beautiful new layer of time, comparable to NDSM-Werf in Amsterdam or the more extreme anarchistic example of Christiania in Copenhagen. This feeble new course of growth however may be threatened by the fact that the site has economical potential for residences that developers will seek to exploit. As history points out, gentrification typically clamps down the first flower buds of creative fertilisation. Consequently, on an urban scale the challenge of the Hembrug Terrein as a whole is to balance residential demands with a coexisting breeding ground for these creative industries, such as art, design, music, photography and film. Within this frame the main question that the master plan of the Plofbos deals with is: How can the master plan amplify these newly emerged natural qualities and reinforce and stimulate further this process of growth? And on meso scale: how can a building represent the story of the Plofbos, facilitate for and inspire the creative industry and ultimately connect the local creative industry with the wider public in order to be more financially appealing?