Amsterdam’s Rokin boosts by temporary intervention in public space

Amsterdam’s Rokin boosts by temporary intervention in public space 2023-01-27T12:35:39+00:00

Project Description

The Rokin in Amsterdam is a street in the central area where for many years the construction of the north-south line subway took place. In the fall of 2016, when the work of the subway line in the area is completed, the municipality will start with the renovation of the public space that is part of the “red carpet”, a public space from Amsterdam Central Station to the south Station.

Due to the long construction process, the area needs to return to the imagery of the inhabitants of Amsterdam. To achieve this objective, Urbanos proposed to temporarily transform the area and generate activities in the public space again to bring the attention back to this space. After many conversations with the shop owners and the municipality, we constructed a temporarily public space on top of the construction site. The spot became immediately popular to relax and meet friends. The extra activities, such as music, parades and markets, were well visited and gave extra glance to the site. At the beginning of the winter the square was demolished and the municipality started with the construction of the final plan. This tactical urbanism or placemaking project became a success because of the commitment of the (shop)owners; these owners made the project also financial feasible.