Urban Analysis Krommenie Assendelft

Maria Selkou - 4120558 Ruben Smits - 1320106Architectural and urban analysis booklet - AR3AUH24

Analysis of ‘Krommenie - Assendelft’ station area

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Foreword

This is the analysis booklet of Maria Selkou and Ruben Smits for the course of architectural and urban analysis, Ar3AUH24. It’s a selection of analysing work we’ve done about the municipality of Zaanstad, in particular station areas. Our edition focuses on the station area of Krommenie-Assendelft, two villages in Zaanstad that share a newly built Sprinter station. Besides this focus on one station area, we also dealt with the relation between the station and the old village cores with the introduction of the railway.

We’ve enjoyed working on this course, the tuesdays with you were very helpful and the content was also really useful in combination with the graduation studio of the Zaanlijn, although we both didn’t choose the research and design location Krommenie-Assendelft for our design studio in the end.

We hope you’ll enjoy reading this booklet and hopefully we’ll see each other with other studio work.

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Table of content

Introduction

Methodology

1. History of Amsterdam metropolitan area

2. Present situation of Amsterdam metropolitan area

3. History of Zaanstad

4. Present situation of Zaanstad

5. History of Krommenie-Assendelft region

6. Present situation Krommenie-Assendelft region

7. History of Krommenie-Assendelft station area

8. Present situation of Krommenie-Assendelft station area

9. History of station Krommenie-Assendelft

10. Present situation of station Krommenie-Assendelft

Final conclusion

Individual evaluation_Maria

Individual evaluation_Ruben

Literature

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Introduction

The Zaanlijn, a train track that runs from Amsterdam-Sloterdijk to Uitgeest, will in the near future (2020) be acting as a high frequency trainline. The sprinters on this line will run 6 times an hour instead of the 2 times an hour they run now. There are a lot of commuters using this train, living or working in Amsterdam/Zaanstad. The municipality of Zaanstad is the third municipality with the most commuters of Holland, 21.000 working commuters against 17.000 dwelling commuters. The plan is to motivate these commuters to take the train instead of the car to their work. That’s part of the reason why the trains will run more frequently. For such a high frequency of trains passing by these stations, the stations should have at least enough passengers to fill the trains and is a reason to rethink the stations and the station areas. The municipality wants to increase density in the station areas, because the closer you live near the station, the better the motivation to take the train.

With the expected drop of the housing occupancy of 2.29 in 2010 to 2.13 in 2030 the housing stock in the area will have to be enlarged if the municipality wants to get along with the expected requirements of the future citizens. The municipality of Zaanstad only wants to increase density ininner-city locations on existing urban, they don’t want their urban expansion to lead to urban sprawl, so that the area keeps its rural character. With the current rise of citizens in the municipality, Zaanstad foresees a need of 15.000 extra dwellings in Zaanstad in 2030. In that perspective, inner city densification will be the main focus of the Zaanstreek and will be on the agenda coming years. (Engel & de Waaijer, 2011)

To be able to accomplish this urban intensification and to be able to get best benefits for the area with the developments of the high frequency

public transport it seems logical to use these public transport nodes as potential plots for (re)development. The station areas would be in that sense the best for densification, epsecially if we know the municipalities plans to motivate commuters to use the train instead of the car. (Goudappel Coffeng, 2010)

Infrastructure in the city is not only an urban or architectural problematic, but mostly the link in between; Our field of interest lies in the connection between the infrastructure itself and the public space and urban pattern around. On a big scale infrastructure connects (parts of) cities, but on a small scale infrastructure most times divides different parts of the city. This is where we, as intermediators between urban planners and architects intervene. “The issue of scale is crucial to build common ground across the planning and design disciplines. In infrastructure planning projects, conflicts often arise between the local, the regional, and the national and international scales. On the one hand, planners are faced with the need to create mutually exclusive spaces for the territorial assignment of transportation responsibilities and hierarchies. On the other, the highly overlapping characteristics of today’s large-scale physical infrastructures, especially of those located within the urban boundaries, imply the need for a certain degree of integration with the local functions. Many times and in many projects, because of a lack of professional interdisciplinary cooperation, these spatial conflicts remain unsolved.” (Calabrese, 2004)

So we have to obtain knowledge about transportation flows, urban conditions and the architecture of Zaanstad to see the relation between the node and the place. We use the station of Krommenie-Assendelft as a case-study to be able to understand the physical consequences of infrastructure on a human/architectural scale and the other way around.

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Methodology

To be able to get a grip on the infrastructural and spatial situation of the Zaanstreek and in particular of the station area of Krommenie-Assendelft, we’ve analysed infrastructural and spatial connections and divisions on 5 different scale levels.

Our analysis booklet is structured chronoligically from an urban scale (the Zaanstad as a part of Amsterdam metropolitan area) to a rather small architectural scale (the station-building of Krommenie-Assendelft) with three intermediate scales; The scale of the municipality Zaanstad, The scale of the two villages Krommenie and Assendelft and the immediate scale of the station area within 800 m. For every scale we provide a small historical analysis and a small analysis of the present situation in infrastructures, spaces and functions. This structural approach resulted in a matrix that you can see on the left. We structurally worked on all these scales and in the end tried to lay connections from the one scale to the other to get a better understanding of what implications a certain top-down decision, like the introduction of a railway has for the spaces that are concerned, but also how one single architectural project can influence an urban transformation.

After we’ve adressed the partial conclusions besides the drawings in the booklet we come up with the final conclusions of this research. When we discussed these final conclusions we’ll explain how we used this research for our design project in our individual evaluation.

Area analysis Assendelft-Krommenie / de Zaanlijn

Metropolitanarea

Zaanstad municipality

Krommenie Assendelft

800 meters circle

The station

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History

Present

Connections between the urban fabric and infrastructure


Metropolitanarea



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The station

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History

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Metropolitanarea



800 meters circle

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Metropolitanarea



800 meters circle

The station

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History

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Final conclusion

Methodology

Introduction

Maria’s evaluation Rubens evaluation

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1. History of Amsterdam metropolitan area

Amsterdam and the Zaanstreek through out history grew in a different way. Amsterdam really grew concentric on the southern side of the IJ, but later on also to the northern side of the IJ. The Zaanstreek however grew from different settlements along the Zaan point to point linear to each other untill a ribbon along the Zaan developed. Later on this ribbon widened to both the eastern as the western side of the Zaan. Both ‘cities’ Amsterdam and the Zaanstreek grew together in time, until the Zaanstreek became one of the urban fingers of Amsterdam.

The urban structure was defined by the morphology of the landscape, in close relation to the main rivers: the Ij and the Zaan.

a. Infrastructure:Before 19th century the main connection was through an extensive network of waterways, the IJ, the Zaan, which served the trade of goods, but the transport of materials and people as well. Later on, the system of land pathways was developed as a parallel connection among the settlements.

In the mid19th century, the railway system was developed and connected Amsterdam with areas such as the Zaanstreek. In the beginning it was not the most popular means of transport, but nowadays it is one of the main connections of these areas.

b. Spatial connection among the settlements was possible through the system of water pathways and the land pathways followed.

Amsterdam and the Zaanstreek in 1350 Amsterdam and the Zaanstreek in 1570 Amsterdam and the Zaanstreek in 1630



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2. Present situation of Amsterdam metropolitan area

Zaanstad nowadays forms part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area. In the structural vision 2040 of Amsterdam the municipality considers Zaanstad as one of the urban fingers of Amsterdam and this connection will become more and more distinguished. Spatially and functionally Zaanstad and Amsterdam are divided by the IJ and its huge harbour front on the IJ. The distance between Zaanstad and Amsterdam is 6 to 18 kilometers, but the proximity is dependant on the infrastructure between the two cities. At the moment there is a large pressure on the infrastructure between the two cities, because of the many commuters in Amsterdam and Zaanstad. By train it’s faster to get from Krommenie-Assendelft to Amsterdam Central station or Sloterdijk than by car. Future plans will improve not only the public transport connection between Amsterdam and Zaanstad, like the high frequency transport line and the high quality public transport, but also road networks, like the second Coentunnel to prevent the many current traffic jams.

a. Infrastructure:The main connection of the urban areas is through the railway and road network that serve mostly people who live and work in the various areas of Amsterdam metropolitan area.

b. Spatial connection with Zaanstad is not currently visible, as the harbour area along the Ij, currently forms a physical border that has to do also with the function of the harbor itself.

Railway connections North and A’damKr.-Ass - CS: 25 minutesKr.-Ass. - Sloterdijk: 20 minutes

Important road structuresKr.-Ass. - CS: 29 minutesKr. - Ass. - Sloterdijk: 23 minutes

Zaanstad in the Amsterdam region Krommenie-Assendelft in relation to Amsterdam Central station

Zaanstad as one of the urban fingers of Amsterdam

The green fingers of Amsterdam

Bus connections from Zaanstad to Amsterdam-North

Industries along the IJ spatially divide Amsterdam from Zaanstad, but there are infrastructural connections

New HOV-lines from Amsterdam to Zaanstad planned in 2020.

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3. History of Zaanstad

With the introduction of the railway in 1868 running through the different municipalities of the Zaanstreek, different stations were built, always close to the municipalities main road with its town hall and church(es). Some municipalities share one station and some have their own. Later on, at the end of the nineteenth century another railwayline was laid and more stations occurred. At the end of the twentieth century the different municipalities merged to one: Zaanstad, with its townhall situated in Zaandijk, but now located directly at the station Zaandam.

In most of the Zaanstreek villages, the water with the various dikes provided the pattern for development and urban growth. The pattern of development also provides a great representation of the different uses that were incorporated by the city, such as the sawmills, the shipyards and the industries. The villages of Zaanstad grew together in time. The railway influenced the direction of their expansions to the west.

a. Infrastructure:The main connection was through the waterway system of dikes that were perpendicular to the Zaan.

b. Spatial connection among the settlements was achieved indirectly through a network of ditches within the landscape.

2|Expansion of the villages AR3AUH020 Hybrid Buildings and their relations with the zaanlijn Maria Selkou/ Ruben Smits/ Fabian van Aerschot

19101850 1940 1970 2000

Wormerveer 1910

Zaandijk 1910

Zaandam 1910

Krommenie-Assendelft 1910 Kogerveld 1970

Bloemwijk 1970Wormerveer 2000

Zaandijk 2000

Zaandam 2000


Bloemwijk 2000Recent station - old city core

Recent station - old city core





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19101850 1940 1970 2000

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19101850 1940 1970 2000

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19101850 1940 1970 2000

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Zaanstad 1850 Expansion Zaanstad till 1910 Expansion Zaanstad till 1940 Expansion Zaanstad till 1970


19101850 1940 1970 2000

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Zaandijk 2000

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Expansion Zaanstad till 2000

The relation between the station and the village cores with the introduction of the railway. Blue dots are the churches and red dots are the town halls.

Mills perpendicular to old structures

First settlements along dikes and Zaan

Directions of reclamation of land

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4. Present situation of Zaanstad

a. Infrastructure:The main connection is through the railway and road network.

b. Currently, the different municipalities are merged into one and have expanded so much that it is difficult to distinguish the borders of them. On the contrary, Zaanstad has a border of nature that forms its external boundary and makes a clear distinction between urban and natural environment. This urban border the Zaanstad municipality really sticks to, it doesn’t want the urban border to expand anymore.

The character of the infrastructure is divided in local and interlocal, so it connects the villages themselves (primary and secondary roads) and the villages to Amsterdam through the highway and the railway.

The industrial functions are concentrated parallel to the water and the railway, the monofunctional dwelling areas are more put on the outer sides of the urban boundaries. The historical ribbons are still mixed in use, combined with living.

Red is the urban land use of Zaanstad, these became strict borders Black are the mixed functions of the oldest buildings

In orange the mostly monofunctional dwelling areasIn grey the industries, mostly along the Zaan and the Railway

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5. History of Krommenie-Assendelft region

Krommenie and Assendelft were originally two villages which grew along the axis of Dorpstraat. With the arrival of the railway and especially during 1950-2000 more houses and facilities began to expand towards this new axis. These four maps show the ever-surrounding of the railway within the built-up urban area. The railway line is now in the middle.

a. Infrastructure: The main connections until 19th century, were i. the axis of Dorpsstraat, along which both settlements began to develop andii. Nauernaschevaart, along which the commercial and industrial activity of the area began to develop.

b.The border of the villages does not exist because they are meged into the municipality of zaanstad, but there remains a physical border along with the railway and Provincial road which runs parallel to it, divides them in two separate distircts.

Municipality Border

1850

Municipality border

1900

Municipality border

1950 2000

Urban development of Krommenie-Assendelft in 1850, 1900, 1950, 2000 and position of the station at the same time periods

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6. Present situation of Krommenie-Assendelft region

a. Infrastructure: The connection of the two villages is made possible through bus connection and a number of streets parallel to the old axis of Dorpstraat. The railway passes through the borders of both villages and connects them to the rest of Zaanstad and Amsterdam. All current infrastructure is used to facilitate the use of the train.

b. Physical connection among the two villages is poor, because of the double border of the railway and the highway.

Currently, the existing network of streets and public transport system connects the residential area. The character of the infrastructure is divided in local and interlocal, so it connects the villages themselves and the villages to Amsterdam. The character of the area is shifting from an industrial into a residential suburban area with local facilities.

Krommenie

Assendelft-Noord

Assendelft

Westzaan

Wormerveer

Nau

erna

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Vaa

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Communicatieweg

ProvincialewegSa

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Important infrastructure in Krommenie-Assendelft: the water, the railway, the road network, the bus network. Main typologies

initial traditional settlements

industrial sites

residential expansion areas

nature

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7. History of Krommenie-Assendelft station area

a. Infrastructure - past The 800 metres radius is chosen as the indication of the area that falls within walking distance of approximately 10 minutes from the station. In 1868, the station of Krommenie-Assendelft was built close to the border of the two villages, in an area remote from the residences. 25 years later, the area developed further and more perpendicular circulation axes were created to connect the villages with the station.

The station of Krommenie Assendelft was positioned in the periphery and not close to one of the two residential settlements. The tracks ran almost parallel to the villages’ border, crossing a natural landscape that steadily began to become more urbanized, as the station square developed and attracted more residences around it.

The current image of the area around the station does not remind of the original one, nowadays the station area is a place where more and more functions are gathered, such as the residential vinex area to the south and the Trias building to the northwest.

Krommenie

Assendelft-Noord

Assendelft

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18941868

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8. Present situation of Krommenie-Assendelft station area

a. infrastructure

Today, there is a distinction between the local and interlocal character in the infrastructure, bacause it connects the villages themselves and the villages to Amsterdam. the character of the area is shifting into a residential area with a few local facilities.

b. Spatial connection

The different functions around the station are poorly connected in physical terms. They form a series of fragments along the Provincialeweg and there is no public route among them.

In the map we can distinguish five typologies of the urban tissue.The purple refers to the traditional settlements that developed in a linear way along the water or along a main street.

The yellow represents the closed urban block of low rise dwellings that is the next expansion area which is also closer to the station area. The green represents the open residential block that followed afterwards. The red and the blue stand for two different types of contemporary dwellings arranged in rows or around an open space. These are mostly found to the south side of the station and they form newer expansions.

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Along the railway

Diverse functions developed along the railway within time, such as educational institution of Trias which is directly visible from the station to the north, the gas station and the residential areas next to it, the sports fields that form a social network as they are spread around the Zaanlijn. The characteristic is that they developed independently through time and no cohesion of functions or character can be recognized in the area.

a. Infrastructure:

Three major cross connections of diverse character can be distinguished along the Provincialeweg and the railway.

The first from the west is directly related to the railway entrance and connects the Trias VMBO to the station through an underpass pedestrian way and a parallel road -Saendelverlaan.

The second is the traditional Dorpststraat which has been extended to connect the traditional linear settlements of Assendelft and Krommenie

Finally, the N8 provides the area with a translocal node to Amsterdam to the south and Wormerveer and Uitgeest to the east.

TRIAS

Vaartdijk

N8DorpsstraatSaendelverlaan Nauernasche VaartCommunicatieweg

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Saendelverlaan and Trias educational institution Dorpsstraat with scattered functions, a gas station N8 with sports fields and FORBO industrial site

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strip along the railway station of Krommenie-Assendelft)

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Vaartdijk800 m.

N8

Provincialeweg

DorpsstraatSaendelverlaan Nauernasche Vaart

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Krommenie-Assendelft

Wormerveer

Koog Zaandijk

Koog Bloemwijk

Zaandam Kogerveld

Zaandam

CULTURE

RETAILHEALTHCARE

EDUCATION

SPORTMUNICIPALITYOFFICEPARK

INDUSTRYHORECA

AR3AUH020 Hybrid Buildings Anton Mamedov / Vincent Paar / Rick Zwerver

Functional CharacterKrommenie-AssendelftEducation

Hypothetical station NorthIndustry/ Sports

WormerveerRetail, Horeca, Industrial Heritage, Sports

Koog ZaandijkIndustry/ Sports/ Zaanse Schans

Koog BloemwijkLiving

Zaandam KogerveldHealthcare/ Sports

Hypothetical station SouthLiving/ Sports/ Verkade

ZaandamRetail and business

Organization of functions

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Function cluster

Function clusters

Spread functions

Verkade

station areas along the ‘Zaanlijn’ railway

The moving of the station

Housing in grey, schools in green, retail in purple and industry in black

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9. History of the station Krommenie-Assendelft

1867-1930The first train station was the same building type erected in other stations of the same line, such as Koog Zaandijk and Wormerveer. Its appearance was formal. Architect:K.H. Brederode

1930-1975The second station had a more informal morphology, it was asymmetrical and consisted of a main building and two low wings that varied in length and height.Architect: H.G.J. Schelling

1975-2006this station can be referred to as ‘temporary‘ due to the cheap construction and the island typology that had. The volume of the building has been minimized significantly.Architect: C.Douma

2008-presentThe new station moved 400 meters westwards, and has two platforms again. it is close to the new vinex area Saendelft. the white steel canopy is characterized by transparency. Architect: Arcadis construction company

Krommenie

Assendelft-Noord

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1867-1930 1930-1975 1975-2006 2008-

HISTORY OF THE STATIONS

Type SS Hoogezand , same building as in Koog Zaandijk, Wormerveer Middle part with bevelled edges Architect: K.H. Brederode

Tight line and asymmetrical. Main building and two low wings that vary in length and height Architect: H.G.J. Schelling

The station retreats on island build-ings. Station Building is minimized Architect: C. Douma

The new stop is central to Krommenie, Assendelft and under construction Vinex Saendelft located 400 meters from the old station. The white steel hood carried is characterized by trans-parency and agility. Architect: : J. Eulderink

1867-1930 1930-1975 1975-2006 2008-

Monumental Informal Temporary Transparent

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KROMMENIE ASSENDELFT STATIONSCALE 1.500

SECTIONS

SECTIONS

10. Present situation of the station Krommenie-Assendelft

“The station buildings were monuments of a new territorial order. With their squares, stations formed new focus points of urban developments in the relation to the historical city centers.” (Claessens & Engel, 2007)

Nowadays, the station building itself offers less and less starting points in the smaller cities, as it is in fact nothing more than a stop with two platforms covered by a canopy.

In contrast with the buildings of the 19th and mid 20th century, services are limited to a minimum. What is left, are ticket machines and a traffic junction with a bus station, taxi stops and numerous bike parks to facilitate the users of the station.

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ACCESS TO THE STATION

1.UNDERPASS 2.MAIN ENTRANCE 3.BRIDGE


USERS AND VEHICLES


USERS AND VEHICLES

Accessibility

One of the key features of the station is symmetry, and this is indicated also in the way that is accessed by the commuters. The new station of Krommenie-Assendelft is accessible through three points.

The main entrance to the platforms is at the same level as the street level, in the middle of the platform length, as the platforms are slightly elevated.

The second entrance is through an inderpass parallel to Saendelverlaan and refers mostly to pedestrians that move towards/from Trias building. it provides as well access via elevator.

The third access is through a bridge-staircase that connects both sides of the station and is close to the bicycle sheds.

The facilities that are available around the station are symmetrically posiioned and include bus stops, car and bicycle parking, kiss and ride areas, access ramps and elevators.

Beyond the functional quality of the entrance zones that were identified, there seems to be no quality of a public space that gives the opportunity for people to meet.Another attribute is the lack of other functions, connected or included to the entrance space,which would potentially contribute to adding value to the station.

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Conclusion

In our study we analyse infrastructures and its spatial consequences in the Zaanstad, focusing on the railway station and the station area of Krommenie-Assendelft as a case-study which shares similar characteristics with other stations on the Zaanlijn, but also differences.

Zaanstad is a municipality that is an urban finger of Amsterdam metropolitan area, althought it grew independently. Amsterdam grew concentric, but the different settlements of the Zaanstreek grew together into one line along the Zaan and later expanded to the sides. The infrastructures between Zaanstad and Amsterdam is about to be improved for the many commuters.

The Zaan and the railway have been the main backbones for the development of the different villages of the Zaanstreek. These villages grew together into one municipality where it’s hard to see the villages borders. Especially the railway represents the connection of previously isolated areas and has stimulated the urban expansion towards and around the stations.

Krommenie and the ribbon village of Assendelft are throughout history two different villages that share one station and one dorpsstraat. In time it grew together as one village, especially Assendelft-North and Krommenie. In many villages in Zaanstad the connection between the eastern and the western part of the railway is poor. However, infrastructurally Krommenie and Assendelft are well connected, despite the railway running through. Most dwelling expansions take place in Assendelft-North on the western side near the new station, because on the eastern side the heavy industry of Forbo is situated.

The expansion area of Assendelft has developed independent from the existing urban structures,

for example by placing the new station and Vinex-location away from the Dorpsstraat it disregarded the context. “Historically speaking, building railways and stations constituted an important period in the development of Dutch cities. Because of recent changes in Dutch railways, the relation between the historic city core and the railway is again open for discussion.”(Claessens & Engel, 2007)

The station as a building is an intermediate space that connects the urban environment with the railway. Nevertheless, the function of the station changed in time and so did the character and its representation as a public building.

With the perspective of the railway both as an urban structural element which defines and changes the identity of an area and as a building with a ‘landmark’ character, the generic qualities /problems of the railway as shown in the analysis are summarized: 1. in urban scale the railway connects regions previously isolated2. in regional scale it divides areas previously united.

The analysis of all scales made a deliberate attempt to link the urban to the architectural level in order to show thati. the urban scale is not sufficient in order to analyse the station areaii. the intermediate scale is of great importance in order to grasp the problems and opportunities of the railway.iii. So far urbaninsts and architects played a rather marginal role in the process of infrastructure plannign and design.

Design Principles

These problems we have encountered for Krommenie-Assendelft lead to design principles and design opportunities:

-”The need to tackle mobility from an integral point of view does not rely only in the complex nature of the planning process but also the investments required to re-integrate the existing infrastructure.” (Calabrese, 2004) This situation should change and the architects should also participate in the design of spaces of mobility, in order to link infrastructure with the location; physically, symbolically, in terms of public space.

-There is a wide range of possibilities that provide solutions for these questions, that need to take into account the existing urban structure and re-integrate the station within it. Tunnelling is for example one option to achieve this integration.

-Starting designing points are mainly found in the fact that the station area is located in an intermediate area, a fracture surface, which could become a potential connecting space.

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meet the same criteria, is the layer of history which is found in the Zaanse Schans open air museum.

The analysis led to the conclusion that the Zaanstreek has a strong element of industrial past which is yet unexploited. The industrial sites, therefore, can provide the missing link to the gap between the pre-industrial past of the ‘Zaanse huis‘ and the present, acting as an intermediate step or layer, which will form an active part in the district’s daily lifa and will contribute to enhance its identity.

Individual evaluation_ Maria

The analysis of Krommenie - Assendelft proved to be an important starting point for the analysis of the railway system as an urban artifacr in the area of Zaanstreek.In this area, the problems and opportunities of the station were discussed and analysed within the course of Urban analysis and the studio, in order to have a complete overview of each station-part of the Zaanlijn.

Nevertheless, the railway is not the only important structural element of the region. The river Zaan has originally been the backbone element responsible for the economic growth of the area and up to nowadays, even though its role has been diminished as an infrastructural axis, still carries a large part of the area’s identity.

In the first map we see the linear urban developments along the river interrupted by large industrial ensembles which take over a big part of the riverfront. Most of these industries are related to food and are currently active.In the second map we see a diagram of the skyline along the Zaan, highlighted by the chimneys and towers of the warehouses ,but also the windmills of the past.The third map shows the functions along the railway network, whic are divided into residential areas and industrial sites. to the East of the railway large expands retain their natural character.The two backbones of Zaanstreek were the main criteria which led me to the choice of site for the graduation studio. The relationship between them is a crucial parameter that I would like to work with.The added value of the site of ADM factory in Koog Zaandijk, among the others that

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VERKADE ABRIEK ZAANDAM

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Location_ContextThe ADM cocoa factory is located on a prominent urban site, between the station of Koog Zaandijk and the west bank of the river Zaan, in the heart of Zaanstad and the borders between Koog aan de Zaan district and Oud Zaandijk. Due to its intermediate station side and riverside location, there are particularly impressive views of this industrial site both from the Koog Zaandijk station and the bridge of Julianabrug, which connects the two banks of the Zaan.

From the promenade on the banks of the river from Wormerveer towards Zaandam, the distinctive silhouettes of the industrial ensembles compete with those of the Zaanse linear villages and indicate the riverbank’s past and current use.

The ADM factory was founded in 1911 and originally consisted of three buildings with functional purpose. Since then and after successive expansions, it has taken over the whole urban block within the district. The main products of the factory were cocoa powder, cocoa mass and cocoa butter.

The site is defined by four important street axes. To the west lies Provincialeweg, the road which runs parallel to the Zaanlijn and connects the districts of Zaanstad. Perpendicular to this on the north border of the factory runs Guisweg, a motorway which connects the eastern part of the area to the Zaanse Schans, through Juilianabrug which crosses the river.To the north of the site, accessible to pedestrians by a network of perpendicular streets to Guisweg, lies Oud Zaandijk, the district’s old centre. The outlying area to the north features a mixture of residential and commercial use of low rise. Koogerpark is to the south. The site is easily accessible both by an integrated transport system in which the railway plays major role, as it is in the immediate vicinity westwards of the site, with access to nearby motorway junctions, as well as a good local transport network in the immediate vicinity.

Urban problemsno good relation with the west side of the station-poor quality of current route to Zaanse Schans -factory as a black spot in the urban tissueAims: improve the ‘back‘ side of the station-improve access to Zaanse Schans -restructure the border of the factory.

Collective memory-identityThe dna of the area seems to be the Zaanse house and the old windmills.the introductino of a new cultural element aims to bridge the gap between the 17th century and the present. A new cultural route is proposed to undertake this role while at the same time the station of Koog Zaandijk becomes part of it.

In the first map the suggested routes and sights by the municipality of Zaan-stad are indicated. in the second map a new route along the industrial past is proposed, marked with brown colour.

the two aerial view show the factory in 1968 and 2008. View from the station towards the Zaan.

In the first map the black colour indictes the strong border of the factory.In the second map, this border is restructured and a route transcends it while linking the east part of the area with the west.

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Ruben Smits - P 1 - Hybrid Buildings Studio - Zaanlijn

The spatial consequences and possibilities with the introduction of station Zaandam-Verkadebuurt for the surrounding area

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Koog Bloemwijk / Zaandam Kogerveld Zaandam

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Location - Situation now - tracks and passes

Individual evaluation_Ruben

Krommenie-Assendelft turned out to be a good case study area to research within the problematic of the railway in an urban situation, the station of Krommenie-Assendelft itself proved this in history. The stations direction changed over time, from Krommenie to Krommenie and Assendelft and it had some trouble with its placement, since it has been moved away from the shopping street to a newly built area to the west in 2008. The station seems to be more and more disconnected from the city.

However, Krommenie-Assendelft for me seemed not to be the typical village of the Zaanstreek. The village is not connected to the Zaan, where a lot of monumental industries are situated along and where these villages derive their character from and don’t have famous food-industries, where the Zaanstreek is known from, totally embedded in the urban tissue, like Verkade, Lassie, Albert Heijn, Duyvis, Cacao etc. The villages around the station Krommenie-Assendelft have some industries and heavy industries like Forbo along the Nauernasche Vaart.

I wanted my individual design and research location to touch upon these typical problematics of Zaanstad. I had three criteria of personal interest: 1. The plot should connect to a (future) train station, so I can deal with the connection from the city part on the one side to the city part on the other side of the track and with the tension between the infrastructural node and the place itself.2. The plot should include a (characteristic food-) factory, that’s still active, so I can deal



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The spatial consequences and possibilities for the

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Elevation of the railway line between Zaandam and Zaandam Kogerveld Elevation of the railway line between Zaandam Kogerveld and Zaandam

All the cross connections over, under or passing the railway, 4 kilometers without carpass

Section of the railway and Provincialeweg

Section of the railway and Provincialeweg

Functional map of the surroundings of the future station

Different identities in the Masterplan of Zaanstad

Aerial photo of Zaandam with Verkade and the planned station

Abstract masterplan of Verkadebuurt with the introduction of a new station.

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surroundings will have a direct effect of more users for the station. Problems may occur with environmental emissions of the existing and active Verkade factory. The refurbishment of the Koekfabriek into a cultural and creative cluster is of great relevance for the introduction of this station, because the station area could derive its identity from the Koekfabriek. The connection between the station and the Koekfabriek could be a very important route. A possible problem for this route could be the non-public, active Verkade factory that could be blocking this connection if nothing will be done with this. The infrastructural node where the Provincialeweg and the two train tracks cross each other will have to be reconsidered, because now it’s a chaos. One track is on the ground floor and the other one is lifted to be able to pass the Provincialeweg, the proposed train station is situated on this infrastructural node. Reason enough for an interesting project.

We can see that there are some important problems that occur when proposing a train station, we can distinguish a couple of spatial problems on a rather big scale. That’s the reason why in my graduation process I first make an urban plan for the new station area to really see what the implication of the new station on the area is, visible on the left page.

I think we learned a lot about the history and the current situation of Zaanstad by doing this wide scoped analysis from urban to architectural scale, especially focused on infrastructures. I can use this knowledge really well to underpine my further work on the future station area by stressing the need for a solution to architecturally connect the infrastructural node and the place itself.

with the conflicts of industry in an urban context. 3. The station area should have potential to densify and should have potential to include some (new) public functions or routes.

The plot we called ‘hypothetical south’ in my eyes is the best plot answering the three posed criteria. This is the area of the future station between station Zaandam and station Koog Bloemwijk. This new station could act as a transfer station, because there are two different tracks splitting right at this point. It could also provide some passes from the east to the westside of the train track, because now there is only a single bike pass and in a line of 4 km. no carpass. The area connects to characteristic industry of the Zaan that’s still in use, the Verkade factory. This factory next to the living area creates some conflicts in environmental questions. The hypothetical south station has a lot of potential, because of the Koekfabriek, a part of the Verkade factory that has already been refurbished, now there are some cultural facilities, like a library and some creative industries situated in the former factory. This attracts local people and could be reason to build further on this development.

Because we were working with the total studio on all different station areas and all different themes, we learned a lot about the Zaanstad and about the other station areas and if we decided to choose another design location than we’ve picked for urban analysis, we didn’t have to do the analysis part all over, because there are a lot of similar problems occurring on different locations in Zaanstad, but one major difference between hypothetical south and Krommenie-Assendelft I want to address;

Krommenie on the one side and Assendelft on the other side of the station grew through out history as two different villages, but are infrastructurally well connected to eachother, because the urban

planners knew already before planning the railway in the 1860s that at least one road connection between the two villages is necessary. Krommenie-Assendelft has a new station on another location with an underpass since 2008. Now they are ready for the future plans, because a railway and roadpass aren’t able to cross on the same level anymore from 2020. However in Zaandam it’s different: the western part of the railway in Zaandam isn’t well connected infrastructurally to the eastern part, because the ‘Westerwatering’ (western part of the railway) was added to the city during the 80s and there were only plans for connecting east and west, but untill now it has never happened properly. With the introduction of the new station ‘Zaandam-Verkadebuurt”, this problem could be solved.

The introduction of a new train station will require a certain vision for the area and it will imply a lot of changes in the direct surroundings, but even in the indirect environment. There is a lot to be reconsidered when locating a train station here, because there are lots of problems and possibilities occurring. I’ll mention a couple of these problems and considerations I have to deal with on this specific location. When planning an extra stop for the sprinters, the sprinters will take a longer time to reach its destination. Is it worth it? The eastern and the western part of the train track is not well connected to each other, this could be solved by the train station if I will design a passing. There wasn’t a station before at this specific point, so there has to be space for a station and there has to be a route to the station to be able to reach the station. Since the Provincialeweg on the eastern side of the track and the Houtveldweg on the western side of the track are situated in front of the track, they could form a barrier to reach the station. Densification of station areas is something that’s on the agenda and these planned dwellings could really co-operate with the train station, the construction of more dwellings in the direct

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Literature

Calabrese, L. M. (2004) Reweaving UMA. Urbanism Mobility Architecture. Rotterdam: Optima Grafische Communicatie.

Engel, H. and Waaijer, A. de (2011) 22 sta-tionslocaties in Hollands Noorderkwartier. Delft: TU Delft.

Goudappel Coffeng (2010) Kansen voor knooppunten en spoorcorridors in Noord-Holland. Een verkenning van de bereik-baarheid, van en het ruimtegebruik rondom openbaar vervoersknooppunten. Noord Holland: Intern rapport.

Claessens, F. and Engel, H. (2007) Over Hol-land 5. Nijmegen: Sun.

Documents

Urban Analysis Krommenie Assendelft