Aegonplein

previous state

Located directly alongside of one of The Hague railway lines and close to the city's Central Railway Station, the company Aegon decided to remodel the esplanade constituting main entrance to its Netherlands headquarters. This space was very dependent on people's mobility and also, at the time, on the transport of goods by means of the adjoining railway line. The setting, surrounded by built-up areas on three sides, was profoundly marked by the presence of the different types of transport that facilitated access to the area: trams, buses and private transport had left a noticeable imprint in the space and had conditioned its use. The fact that a perimetric road existed alongside the buildings excessively isolated the zone and, despite its environmental quality afforded by a significant presence of trees, the area was used almost exclusively as an open-air car park without offering any inducement that might favour its continued occupation by anyone.

aim of the intervention

In 1996, the company announced an international competition with the aim of redefining the esplanade so as to convert it into a public space that would overcome the rigidity of its former function. General mobility in the square had to be reconsidered bestowing a flexibility on to a strictly functional framework that had turned the zone into a mere transit space that was underused for most of the day. The project was expected to include the urban integration of the space into the daily life of the residential district, regularising and improving its relations with its surroundings.

description

The project of remodelling the square took into account from the outset the pre-existing transit flows, working with the logic of a superposition of routes and movements. Once the different spatial demands were identified, along with the requirements for these flows to be maintained, rest and stop-off areas were proposed, these being linked to green zones that were connected by pedestrian paths joining the company buildings with the immediate urban setting. The perimetric road, which had existed for transit around the circumference, was shifted from its former location so that available spaces were extended as far as the buildings in continuity with the green areas, while zones of benches were also installed. Stationary vehicles were limited to zones adjoining the new ring route.

Within the green zones, in areas set apart from the area as a whole through the material treatment of the ground with fine red gravel, a number of objects were placed – green follies – tree sculptures that intensify the overall sensation of greenness and convert the new space into a green square or small park with typically urban functions that are linked with collective mobility. One of these sculptures incorporates a sophisticated intermittent curtain of water.

In order to ensure the use of the park outside the hours of tram and bus timetables, two kiosks, a florist and a bar-café were installed with opening hours extended throughout the day. The project has revolutionised existing routes and has achieved a flexible public space combining the dynamism bestowed by the different modes of transport and its definition of green spaces which, removed from this transit movement, have a more static nature that invites one to stop and spend some time there.

assessment

A kind of company garden, in a space hitherto alienated from its surroundings, has been incorporated into the urban life of the district enabling a previously impossible appropriation of the area by the population. Thanks to a coherently conceived functional redefinition that takes different logics into account, ensuring that these logics would be complementary rather than excluding, a new park, which is inviting for both residents and outsiders, has been created.

The coexistence and interrelation between optimised transport functions and the incorporated leisure spaces have overcome the poor quality and banality that frequently result when a space is considered unidimensionally from a single point of view. In contrast, this project has given proper consideration to different spheres of activity, those present and those still to be implemented, and has turned this harmonious superimposition into one of its strengths in bringing about a small but genuine urban project.

Mònica Oliveres i Guixer, architect