Laurens Quarter Rotterdam

STUDY
ETH Zurich, Department of Architecture
Design, term paper, 1996-1997
With Prof. Hans Kollhoff

TEAM
Fawad Kazi

DESCRIPTION
City and House, Rotterdam
In the course of our design exploration of major European cities, we ventured into the Laurens Quarter in Rotterdam, a central urban structure that fell victim to almost complete destruction during the war. On the one hand, the reconstruction programmatically followed the model of the "New City," as can be seen in the Lijnbaan, Europe's first pedestrian zone. On the other hand, the old city structure was revived with architecture influenced by the Delft School.

Rotterdam, as a modern city undergoing constant change, always saw itself as the antithesis of Amsterdam, the static, historic city. That is why Rotterdam's urban planners began to develop concepts for densifying the city center, which involved the extensive demolition of buildings from the 1950s. However, the residents are resisting, and the planners are having to rethink their plans. The new city is being overtaken by history. (Professorship Hans Kollhoff ETH Zurich)

PUBLICATIONS
Architekturlehre II Hans Kollhoff, ed. Hans Kollhoff Professorship ETH Zurich, 2012, p. 17
Architecture Teaching Hans Kollhoff, ed. Hans Kollhoff Professorship ETH Zurich, 2004, pp. 30, 230, 234-235
ETH Zurich – Yearbook 1997, ed. ETH Zurich, Department and Division of Architecture, 1997, p. 52