Map13

WATER-PLAZAS . Europan 11 . leeuwarden

gracias a Map13

Map13, as an open collaborative group of young Spanish architects designed this proposal in the context of the Europan 11 Competition.

The site is located in Leeuwarden, in the north of The Netherlands. According to the competition brief, the proposal should get deep into the relation between the daily living and the water.

MASTER PLAN CONCEPT
Living in the water represents the idea of enjoying water-life-style. We understand the water not only as a circulation/connection element, but also as part of the living concept. The whole master plan is conceived as a sequence of WATER-PLAZAS. These are thought of as a dilatation of a traditional canal which can be used either as a meeting point for boats during spring-summer time, or as big ice-skating plazas to enjoy during the winter. The WATER-PLAZAS are visually connected alternatively to the landscape in the South or to the Harinxmakanaal in the North, allowing every single house to have a private access to the water, where you can moor your boat.

URBAN CONTEXT
In order to integrate the site with the historical city, on the other side of the Kanaal, the project generates a linear recreational waterfront park. The housing with the highest density is placed along this northern plot border, transforming the canal into a water boulevard. Without this constructed front, the canal could not be understood as a defined urban space, loosing its relation with the rest of the city. This front is reinforced by the bowing-towers that are slightly bent on the top part to visually connect with the other side of the Kanaal to the North or to the open landscape to the South. Following the development to the South, the housing typologies become less dense, integrating with the rural landscape context.

CIRCULATION
The general circulation scheme for the master plan consists of a main motorway, which runs on top of the existing pipeline on the North and connects with the railway underpass on the West, and the Overijsselselaan junction on the East, using part of the existing infrastructure from the former Hendrik Algraweg. Connected to this main axis are a series of slower traffic circulation rings, which bends in one direction to form the water-plazas. This system allows for the alternate water-plazas to connect directly with the farmland landscape. The configuration of these streets with low traffic density are thought of as a place for children to play and draw on the sidewalk in front of their homes.

The historical path Boksumerdijk is kept as the main bike/pedestrian axis that connects all the plazas. Several green areas and public spaces linked to the water are located along this path.

In the west and east ends of the plot, there are two marinas each of them with mooring space for 20 boats and a retail/catering services.


Map13 is integrated by:

Andrés Velarde Sanz
Ramón Álvarez Roa
Jimena Campillo González
Marta Domènech Rodríguez
Juan Enríquez Lage
Carlota Estaún Martínez
David López López
Cristina Magro Baroni
María Palencia Serrano
Mariana Palumbo Fernández
Gonzalo Pardo Roquero
Antonio Rodríguez Cámara
Pablo Sigüenza Gómez