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Workshop Gouwplein

Successful design workshop Gouwplein

Within the activities of the Wijkarena Oud Charlois an enthusiastic group of participants initiated to redesign Gouwplein with a totally new and innovative approach. The participants of this group are supported and joined by members of the Veldacademie.

In February the group asked more than two hundred inhabitants to submit ideas about the redesign and functions of the Gouwplein. With drawings and collages the residents responded to the assignment in great numbers. Being faced with numerous ideas, the following theme topics where distilled: sports & play, green, meeting, all ages and public transport.

Wednesday the 24th of March an evening workshop was held at the Veldacademie. Based on the first ideas the inhabitants where asked to continue their work to find a more realistic design for the Gouwplein.

At least 25 residents including new members joined the group that evening, more people than the group had even hoped for. This resulted in a very rich discussion about various subjects; from shared dog-droppings anger to the new design of benches and a natural playground. The plans and location of the still to be build mosque was seen as a big opportunity for the Gouwplein.

To visualize the fresh ideas, a professional cartoonist was invited to put the groups’ ideas on paper. Everyone left the workshop with copies of the fresh illustrations. Soon the drawings will be exposed in the windows along the Gouwplein.

Gouwplein bord

The results of the workshop will be integrated into the actual design brief. An urban designer of the municipality will be lead by the Veldacademie to translate the design brief into a design proposal including the residents’ initiatives. The results of this will be presented to the inhabitants and users of the Gouwplein.

The results of the workshop are exposed in the shop windows at the Gouwplein.