Michael de Beer

Urban design / Place identity

Westerwal

Westerwal · Oudewater, Netherlands

The proposals connected housing, public space and a small harbour with the existing town fabric and its relationship to the water.

Completed canalfront houses at the Westerwal development in Oudewater
Completed Westerwal development · Waterfront architecture by Hans Been Architecten

The design question

How can a former industrial site offer a new living environment that belongs to the scale, atmosphere and layered history of Oudewater?

My contribution

As lead designer from the competition stage, I worked on the spatial vision, urban plan and design-quality principles. I developed typology and material studies, project imagery and presentations, translating stakeholder input into spatial choices.

The value

The proposals connected housing, public space and a small harbour with the existing town fabric and its relationship to the water.

Urban framework and design-quality guidance: West 8. My contribution: competition vision, urban design, typology and material studies, and advice at the interface between buildings and public space. Waterfront architecture shown: Hans Been Architecten; the broader development also includes work by Monadnock. Photograph supplied by Michael de Beer.

View the project selection ↗Completed waterfront architecture ↗
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