OMA - Bijlmermeer Redevelopment, Netherlands, Amsterdam, 1986

BIJLMERMEER REDEVELOPMENT, NETHERLANDS, AMSTERDAM, 1986

The project for the Bijlmermeer consists of a proposal for the renovation of the urban pattern of a grid, a truly modern extension for social housing, in the southeast of Amsterdam. When we started the project it had become fashionable to have an apocalyptic view of the Bijlmermeer and even on the highest levels of decision making, the demolition of important parts of the scheme was considered acceptable. We looked at it in a positive manner, appreciating the repetition of elements and its large scale. At the same time we considered this monotonous beauty the very basis of a problematic; on the scale of a provincial town, urban living had been reduced to such completely innocent activities like fishing, walking and bathing.

The Bijlmermeer is commonly associated with the central area of Amsterdam, built on the lines of the Modern movement: eleven story high slabs, above two layers of storage lockers, on regular intervals bent with angles of 120 degrees; a regular pattern, planted in a non-differentiated landscape, divided by a two-level traffic system with both levels off the ground plane, along parking garages, forming a filter between dwelling and road, leaving the ground free. At first glance it appears that everything is hiding underneath in a cave-like atmosphere, a nucleus of social, commercial and cultural life.

The focal point for criticism is the built-up part of the scheme, for reason of its omni-visibility. At the same time it is the least changeable part. In our opinion the built-up part is not the only factor of importance for urban quality; it is the surface of the ground on which ambitions and impossibilities are (to be) played out. To prove this, we projected other fragments of urban fabric (well known for their urban interest) on the same scale over a typical part of the Bijlmermeer. One quadrant of slabs alone already covered an area as large as central Amsterdam, thus showing the capacity of the surface to suggest an interesting built structure.

Conclusion: the spectre of urban activities produced by the actual Bijlmermeer is too poor. It doesn't match the potential of our culture of congestion and is anachronistic in view of modern urban pluralism.

We believe the Bijlmermeer to be robust, even monumental, which is visible on diagrams showing only the existing constructed part. The smaller commercial centres need as much attention as they function as a central shopping mall next to a combined railway / metro station. The pedestrian routes along these secondary centres need to be torn away from underneath the traffic system.

Thanks to its location in the centre of the con-urbanisation in the west of the Netherlands, and its rail and road connections, the Bijlmermeer can become an independent urban entity. The Bijlmermeer should not be approached by means of historical models; the possibility of modern architecture is yet not exhausted.

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