De Zwarte Hond provides inspiration for re-use of ministry building
The city of The Hague plans to redevelop the area near the Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië railway station to create a campus for businesses and knowledge institutes in the security industry. The area will be known as the Beatrix Quarter. The former Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment building, designed in 1990 by Herman Hertzberger, forms part of the planning area. Partly inspired by the ideas for the ministry building pitched by De Zwarte Hond during last year’s Transformatieplein (at the PROVADA Real Estate Fair), the city council has decided that further development of the location was indeed feasible. The area between the railway station and the former ministry building will be pedestrianised, according to the recently published planning memorandum. In order to start injecting some life into the area, the ground floor level of Hertzberger’s building will be tackled first, with the Central Government Real Estate Agency making parts suitable for commercial use.
This year De Zwarte Hond used the Transformatieplein presentation to propose plans for reusing the old Panopticon prison in Arnhem, known as The Dome. The presentation can be viewed here.
For more information, please contact Daan Zandbelt.
