City Street Park Side
Zoetermeer, NL
Zoetermeer, a post-war new town, aims to become a livelier residential and entrepreneurial city—attractive to pioneers and innovators—while strengthening its position within the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan region. Transforming the Afrikaweg into a true city street is the catalyst: it enables new forms of living and working and expands the centre toward West Center and the station. The plan is guided by seven ambitions: help meet the regional housing demand; extend the city centre; create a clear link between station and West Center; remake Afrikaweg as an urban street; deliver a new green quarter with busy and quiet sides; use green structure and side streets to connect to the surroundings; and provide housing differentiation supported by a shared roof landscape, and invites a new urban identity.
Location: Zoetermeer, NL
Design: 2019 -
Site: 15.6 ha
Gross Floor Area: 270.500 m2
Gross Area FSI: 1.7
Net Plot FSI: 3.7 (average)
Program: Housing, Parking,
Amenities, Work, Commercial
Associates: Sant en Co.
ZZDP, Atelier Pro, Van Rossum
Client: Breevast BV
Animation Video: Studio analoog
The resulting morphology balances density with human scale. Along Afrikaweg, relatively narrow, tightly knit high-rise buildings form an active street wall with lively plinths, mixed functions and clear addresses. Toward the park side, the fabric steps down into a more open, greener orientation, where collective gardens and private outdoor spaces act as buffers and places to meet. Green corridors and side streets stitch the quarter into its wider context, improving walkability and everyday comfort. Variation in height, typology and architectural expression prevents monolithic blocks and creates diverse living conditions—sun, views, wind comfort and privacy—across both the urban street and the quieter park edge. Careful detailing of façades and entrances supports safety, legibility and pride, while roof terraces add greenery, water retention and communal outlooks above.
