Author Archives: Mathias lehner

Former State Architect (College van Rijksbouwmeester & Rijksadviseurs) Floris Alkemade will speak about spatial planning with a focus on work in Zaanstad on 16th of May 2025. The venue is the former ammunition factory on HEMbrugterrein, location of the great ZAMU museum which will open fall 2025.

I am looking forward to co-lecture and discuss with Floris how our visions for the future and today can be realised in Zaanstad. Tickets will soon be available online via the organizers’ websites. See you soon on HEMbrugterrein!

This inspirational and networking afternoon is organized by De Maatschappij Departement Zaanstreek-Waterland and Babel Zaans architectuurplatform, with support of Gemeente Zaanstad. The event will be moderated by Leontine de Koning-Bruggeman.

SPEAKING ABOUT MAKING SPACE FOR WORK IN MEDIUM SIZED CITIES

Let’s meet at the REALCORP conference from 14th to 16th of April 2025 in Graz, Austria. I will be lecturing about the necessity for work within cities. The presentation will take place in the morning session of the 16th of April as part of the urban and rural transformation series in auditorium 4, of FH Johanneum.

Gemeente Zaanstad can be seen as an inspiring example where the recently adopted urban development plan acknowledges ‘making space for work’ with in the city as a key objective. I a honoured to elaborate about one of the principles of the urban development plan, developing a ‘woon-werk-stad’ (city for housing and work), next to a number of key projects within the urban weave such as intensifying an industrial area in the periphery from FSI 0.6 to FSI 2.

https://www.fh-joanneum.at/veranstaltung/real-corp/

Earlier this year Hans Fuchs interviewed me and Marco van Hoek of Amersfoort Municipality on the different approaches when it comes to intensifying industrial estates in our cities. The article comparing the diffent strategies was published in De Blauwe Kamer magazine for ubanists and landscape architect in the beginning of 2025. While Amersfoort also recognizes the urgency of making space for work they developed an approach of acupuncture within the existing city weave.

Zaanstad however, defines development of a mixed-use city of housing and working as one of the key principles in the Urban Development Plan 2040 ‘Making Space’. At the moment colleagues are developing not only a spatial economic strategy, but also define areas and sectors and related ambitions. For example for percentages in surfaces compulsory dedicated to work. When it comes to industrial sites, Zaanstad proposes intensifying the areas radcially, e.g. Achtersluispolder from FSI 0,6 to FSI 2.0.

Read the article online on the website of Blauwe Kamer magazine.

PUBLISHING EXECUTIVE TRAINING PROGRAM

The executive training programme #NewZaanstad is going into the second quarter of 2025. #NewZaanstad is part of the implementation of both, the Urban Development Plan ‘#MakingSpace‘ and the Social Vision of the municipality towards 2040 and beyond.

While focussing upon learning how to practically integrate these visions in the daily work in this rapidly growing city, Noah van de Werff will run an evaluative research on the effects of the program.

The executive program includes master classes, workshops, excursions, trainings and much more. We start off in the second quarter on April 1st with a Master Class by Roy Bijhouwer of Quadrat urbanists and landscape architects.

The editorial team includes Marc den Hertog, Koert-Jan Van Hees, Rianne Kleine Koerkamp, Lennart Graaff next to Lisa Schouten, Meike Westers and newly joined Frida Ruhulessin.

The programme is also open for strategic partners who want to co-create the future of Zaanstad municipality with us. Want to join, or contribute? Just drop me a DM! Looking for forward to great learnings and collaborations!

How can you keep the high ambitions for an urban plan until it is realized?

This question was the central topic of an atelier organized by Utrecht Province on improving nature inclusive building and climate adaptation in March 2025. The case discussed upon initiative of Bunnik Municipality was their urban extension plan ‘Kersenweide‘ with 1.200 houses (Masterplan by Loos Van Vliet).

This green field extension is part of a 60% (!) growth of this city within the coming years. As an expert I was happy to contribute next to Jip Lauwe Kooijmans and Bart Cardinaal, and wonderfully hosted by our colleague Marieke de Keijzer.

Together with viusal artist Marius van Zandwijk we developed a spatial intervention for the Dutch outdoors in the East of the Netherlands. This folly made of industrial fencing in custom greens discusses our relation with landscape and nature in general.

Entitled ‘claim’ the installation explores the roles of nature and men in the Anthropocene. Do we understand nature? Can we capture nature? Who is included and excluded when it comes to this ambigous relation?

The design of this folly is entirely made of second hand industrial fences and can be reused after the installation. We developed the design for a small art festival in Norg (Drenthe) in summer 2025.

Upon invitation by Dr.in DIin Rita Mayrhofer of the ILAP departmentof BOKU University Vienna and the international network Biotope City I am honoured to lecture about our work on the urban development plan of Zaanstad Municipality.

Join us online when I am responding to the question whether the urban development plan for 2040-2050 for Zaanstad, neighbouring city of Amsterdam with 160,000 inhabitants that is set to grow rapidly to 200,000, can enable a good life for everyone within ecological limits.

I am happy to introduce the spatial vision for the future Zaanstad, entitled ‘Creating Space’, which was adopted by the municipal council at the end of 2024. It describes the city’s future qualitative development on the basis of five principles, that address today’s challenges and transitions.

The short lecture followed by discussion can be followed via a Zoom link on the 18th of March, 17:00 -18:00hours.

I was honoured to take over the guidance of some teenage students of Sint Michaelcollege Technasium in Gemeente Zaanstad from my former colleague Tijs Rothweiler. But I would have never expected the incredible quality of the work of these young talents!

Having designed inspiring spatial solutions for four locations along an intensly used inner urban highway (N203), Noesa Ris and Lorelai Richardson clearly demonstrated that heree we have two talented young women full of enthousiasm and courage when it comes to design urban solution for the future.

What a pleasure to guide these young talents! One wants to become an industrial designer, and one an architect. Employers: Keep a close watch on them!

Within the 2025 executive training program ‘Nieuw Zaanstad’ of Zaanstad Municipality I was honoured to host the first Master Class with supervisor and urbanist Roy Bijhouwer of Quadrat, Rotterdam. On 25th of February 2025 the premiere of a set of three sessions took place as a lunch lecture in the town hall.

Speaking about the the ‘morphology’ and the landscape elments that informed the villages of Wormerveer and others in Zaanstad Noord, Roy introduced the live audience (and those who will watch the recording online at a later stage) to the beauty, the history and the drama of the particular Dutch peat landscape in this area along the river Zaan below sea level.

Wonderful workshop session in January 2025 with multidisciplinary group members including Catharina Vaendel (presenting the results). In this pressure cooker organized by Amsterdam Green Campus we came up with a proposal for a connection of the Amstelcampus of Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences across Wibautstraat. A modular wooden trellis spanning the boulevard a as a habitat for many species. Also, it  increases quality of live for humas with extra shade, fine dust absorption and noise reduction. Elevated paths enable the students to criss cross there campus in the greens while clearly marking the entrance of the Amsterdam city centre. Why not just do it?

Thanks for the inspiring lectures by Maike van Stiphout, Gideon Spanjar, Heidi Kamerling en De Onkruideniers organized by Roos van Manen and her colleagues. Photographs by Simon Pasveer.