Emmen (NL), E10 - "Suture"

Project – The city has a fragmented periphery that needs a suture formed of public space. The proposal draws on the potential of the divided land ownership between developers and the municipality. Reshuffling improves the economic value of the housing, with municipally owned and managed public space. The small scale intervention enhances the integration of a neighbourhood that is now completely car-dependent.

Studies – The winning team got a first contract for a detailed preliminary design for 24 houses and a communal central space but for a smaller site because of land ownership reasons. They were also asked to change the housing typology into 3 blocks of row housing. The communal space will be managed by the inhabitants to accommodate a series of spaces that will give to the neighbourhood an interesting and liveable open space. A participatory process was established to involve from the early stages the future inhabitants in the decision of the kind of space the central “suture” should become. In 2014, the contractor produced the construction drawings with the team and all the needed bureaucratic procedures have been taken care by Lefier and the municipality of Emmen. The construction should start in 2015.

See the project here