Centre plan for Etten Leur

1999, Etten Leur

the quality of the plan is not always the decisive factor

At the end of the last century, we and Bouwfonds applied for selection for the new city centre plan for Etten-Leur. Due to the extension of the busy through-route between Breda and Bergen op Zoom – which used to cut straight through Etten-Leur  – it was once again possible to link the northern and southern parts of the city. The plan was to have a new municipal hall, an extension of the shopping centre and a large number of homes on this site. Under this building mass it should once again be possible to park: 1,000 cars in a single big garage. We approached this differently by situating the homes on top of the tilted ground level. Under this, it would be possible to park in two parking garages. The reason why our plan finally did not win was that Bouwfonds had estimated a high operating risk for the parking garages.  

However, the jury thought that our plan was the most original design. In urban planning/architectural
terms, it was judged to be the best plan.