HEIJPANEMA BEACH

Heijplaat in a way is a strange place because it is harbour-locked, its existence is because of the harbour who always has given work for the residents. The water has always had a work function. Now that part of the harbour is disabled, the Port of Rotterdam is making plans together with the creation of a second Maasvlakte. Some companies will move further to the sea and some will stay. Within these future plans Heijplaat has to get economically and only on a later moment socially more interesting. We want to question this approach by making the residents the most important thing on this peninsula.

Now that the water has lost and will lose part of its work function, we want to give it a recreational function. We want to give the water to the residents because for some years now the swimming pool of Heijplaat is empty and the waterfront is private area. Heijplaat needs high-grade public space. So we will offer a beach floating in the middle of the water to enjoy the sun, play in the sand, practice sports, take a shower and buy some ice-cream, look at the ships and the movement in the harbour.

cities 2030

"Humanity has not been down this road before," write urbanists Peter Hall and Ulrich Pfeiffer. "There are no precedents, no guideposts."
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