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The City Architect Studio, what is that?

The Atelier Stadsbouwmeester is a creative hotspot in the City of Leeuwarden. We use it to think together about what our living environment could look like in 2050.
Designers and other experts talk about important topics such as the housing shortage, living together, sustainable mobility and climate.
We work together on new ideas during fun workshops, exhibitions and lectures. This is how we combine knowledge and creativity. Together, we come up with new plans for the city and the villages around it. After all, we make the future together, and it starts today.

Studio Agenda 2023-2026

Over the next 3 years, we will use design research to devise future scenarios about how we can use our space in the municipality of Leeuwarden smartly. What kind of city, village or landscape are we aiming for and what is required for this? And what should we leave as is, what should we protect?

9 workshops, 9 themes

We work according to the Workshop Agenda. This agenda consists of 9 workshops and 9 themes. We highlight one theme per workshop. The 9 themes are the themes presented during the opening of the City Architect’s Workshop, refined by the input of visitors and a group of professionals who help us think about the workshop. We head for 3 workshops per year: 1 in the spring, 1 in the summer and 1 in the autumn. And for each workshop we appoint a ‘workshop master’, a specialist from the professional world who acts as a guest curator for that workshop. Of course, we also occasionally organize ‘separate’ activities, when current events require it. View the Workshop Agenda 2023-2026 with the mission, themes and rough planning for the next three years.

Workshops

Atelier 1 The inner city as an extended living room

In the first workshop, we looked at the subject of ‘The historic city centre’. Where the city centre used to be mainly for working and shopping, more and more people are going there to live. In this workshop, we focus on how the city centre works as an extended living room in 2050. How do you meet each other, and are there opportunities for that? And how do we ensure a healthy environment, for both people and animals?

Summary, presentations and studies

We have summarised and translated everything studied, designed and discussed in this workshop into ‘Inner city as an extended living room, lessons learned from Atelier #1. Presentations and studies have also been added.

  1. The inner city as an extended living room (Lesson learned, Atelier #1).
  2. Inner city compared with other inner cities (Nathan Kooistra).
  3. Leeuwaarden inner city work book (Minke van Asperen)
  4. What if the city belongs to me? (Fardau Nijboer).
  5. Green vision Leeuwarden inner city (Maike van Stiphout).
  6. Green living rooms in the city centre (NHL Stenden).
  7. Meeting in public space (Gerben Helleman).

Atelier 2 The compact city

On 10 July 2024, GEAR gave a presentation on how Leeuwarden can be a city where you can live, work and enjoy recreation close to home on the way to 2050. They came up with new the idea of building new streets across the city, connecting neighbourhoods from inner city to outer area and vice versa. Just like the spokes of a wheel.

Smart growth

According to GEAR, these streets could transform the city. Industrial estates become live-work zones, flats are built on single-storey buildings and parks on streets are connected by green space. That is how Leeuwarden is growing smartly in terms of living, working and staying. You will find more information in the workbook “De compacte stad.’

  1. Workbook ‘De compacte stad.’

Atelier 3 The adaptive environment

Atelier #3 of the Atelier Stadsbouwmeester focused on the theme ‘adaptive environment’. Design agency FABRICations collaborated with experts on water and heritage. They looked into how water affects our city and landscape in the past, present and future.

Their research is called Friezstad, a water network of the future. They exhibited 3 ideas on what the future with water could look like:

  • dynamic balance
  • fast and slow
  • working water

The study shows that we need to relearn how to work with water.
A video was also made. It is shown on an 8-metre-long carpet. The film shows old footage, drawings and 3D models. Together, they show how important water can be for a habitat well prepared for climate change.

Atelier 4 Gemengde Stad

How do we create a city where people can live, work and use facilities close to home? That question was the focus of Atelier #4 of the Atelier Stadsbouwmeester.

Participants explored the idea of the ’15-minute city’. They looked at three levels. City, district and building to the opportunities and challenges of combining functions. The conclusion was: mixing functions only succeeds with a clear plan, courage and customisation.

The local economy plays an important role in this. Local businesses not only make districts more vibrant, but also make people more connected. They deserve more attention in policy. Mixing functions is not easy, but it helps make the city strong and flexible.

Stay informed!