HARBOUR PARK

ROTTERDAM, 2007

The Rotterdam Port Authority is a gargantuan corporation. The nature of its business is such that it cannot hide it inside buildings and let architecture do the talking. The harbour occupies an area the size of a region and is a landscape all in itself. That landscape has an effect on people and how they perceive the port - and theirs is not an overall positive view. Strangely enough, their landscape was not an issue with the Port Authority, until recently that is. Hans Smits, CEO of Rotterdam saw the opportunity and proposed to start changing the way people experience the harbour. He invited (landscape) architects to conjure up an alternative for, or better still, an addition to the public relations strategy, one in which the appearance of the harbour landscape would play a crucial role.
Our approach centres around the idea that the harbour landscape is worthy of another user: By way of simple transformations, the harbour landscape can be turned into an awe-inspiring surroundings for recreation, leisure and sports. It is crucial to understand that 3605 ha of harbour territory is given up to a useless existence, the area that is left over after planning.
Taken together, these bits and pieces of leftover land stretch from Rotterdam to the North Sea. It presents the opportunity for a follow-up to Emscher Park in the Ruhr Area (Germany), yet another way to reclaim land that has lost its use and to show how smart planning can make beautiful what most people have already given up on.