Sven Hendriks

The car space as a carrier for new possibilities

In an extremely short span of time, we have surrendered vast amounts of space to the car, giving it an enormous spatial impact on the contemporary city at every scale.

Over the past century and a half, mobility and transport have undergone a profound transformation. Human living environments were once small and regional. This first changed through the introduction of railways, which effectively made the country feel smaller. The arrival of the ‘safe’ bicycle and various forms of tram transport then created faster connections within cities and regions. During this period, a layered and diverse system of multiple modalities emerged, coexisting alongside one another.

This continued until the rapid rise of the automobile shifted priorities dramatically towards car-oriented infrastructure, causing the once-varied spectrum of mobility options to diminish.

We are now, to some extent, finding our way back. There is a growing awareness that the car is not a holy grail, but merely one component within a well-functioning system of modalities. Even so, our cities still need to take significant steps to drastically reduce the presence of cars. A well-developed network of high-quality public transport, safe and appealing cycling infrastructure and walkable urban districts are essential success factors. This also requires a renewed perspective on the role of the car in the city, including the shaping of new places such as multimodal hubs.

Within this new context, the design task begins to take shape. It starts with selecting concrete locations. The focus lies on spatial structures built for the car, particularly parking garages. In this selection process, careful attention has been paid to the spatial typologies of parking garages and their potential for adaptive reuse. The immediate urban context of potential locations has also been a decisive factor.

This ultimately led to three locations in Arnhem that were considered worthy of investigation. Before developing design proposals for these sites, an appropriate strategy was first defined. This resulted in three approaches: Dismantling, Transformation and Intervention. For two parking garages, a full design process was then elaborated.

Guided by the transformation strategy, the Rozet parking garage is reimagined as a future-proof residential and work building. Through strategic modifications to the existing structure, space is created for comfortable housing. In addition, the building gains a social and collective character, with shared facilities such as creative workshops and a public bicycle hub.

The Broerenstraat parking garage is repurposed through a radical intervention. By opening the underground garage up to ground level, a context emerges in which an underground sports and recreation centre can be realised. The new spaces are accessed via a distinctive ground plane that meanders across multiple levels and also offers opportunities for outdoor recreation.