I graduated from TU Delft with the thesis “Kunstwerk Ring A10- Redefining identity of the Ringroad A10 in Amsterdam” The project was an attempt to explore the current and future social role of the highway in the city of Amsterdam. With the use of participation as a base for the research and design I proposed solutions for different scales of the Ringroad A10 (city, district, building) In each scale I tried to redefine the identity of the Ring A10 using architectural tools to emphasize the existing positive associations and to establish new perception of this current non-space. The project received an honourable mention.
City Scale
By downgrading the traffic, Ring A10 would be transformed into a city road given back to the citizens. This gives an opportunity to reconsider the lanes division and its size. Keeping the initial width of the Ring, the project proposes to divide it into 3 parts, two roads with 2 lanes each with the designated automated public transport track on each side. This gives 15 meters space in between the two parts of the flyover which would become a green Ring of the city, a public park used by both sides. In this way the identity of the ring could be transformed from a barrier into a place to be, a linear sequence of events that orders the spaces into a single identity.
district scale
The strategy for redefining the identity of the ring A10 in the districts scale focuses on the public transport stations. They serve as the gates to the new zone in the city. The zone of the Ring A10. They should also be seen as tactically planned “injections of modular urban interventions” The stations would be planned according to the current urban dymanics to revitalize the neighbourhoods but they would also provide an opportunity to create new vibrant areas attractive for people living on both sides. The Ring A10 becomes a public interior by itself, a place Amsterdammers meet at and talk about.
Local Scale
In order to redefine the identity o the Ring A10 in the local scale, I found it essential to invite participants in the design process. Organizing workshops on visual interpratations of words, I focused the notions that could become a bedrock for the place making strategy, This let me understand what is the essence of the current associations with the Ring A10. Instead of forcing new ideas onto space and into people’s minds, I decided to shift and strenghten the existing ideas. This led to forming a specific design strategy that consists of 4 points - design principles, emphasizing the features of the new identity of the Ring A10.
