Rotterdam is a city, situated in the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It has one of the lar­gest ports in the world; therefore it has a great impact on the Dutch and world economy. Together with other cities, such as Amsterdam, Utrecht and Den Haag, the area is known as the Randstad; the densest area of Holland, due to its economic value.

The location of the project is situa­ted in Rotterdam North and consists out of 2 neighbourhoods; Angiese­buurt and Bergpolder. The city district has an esti­mated amount of 11.949 inhabitants. As most of the activities are situated on the South side of Rotterdam, close to the waterways; below the train station is considered the centre of Rotterdam, where there are plenty of restaurants, shops, bars and other facilities. The North side of Rotterdam has mostly residential areas, whereas the South, along the river and the port, provides lots of industrial areas. The train station and the tracks form a barrier bet­ween the North and the South. Above the sta­tion most facilities are local and used for local residents.

The North side has become less attractive over the years. However, there are a great potential in the North; the Hofbogen (Part of the “Hofpleinlijn”). A 1,9 km overhead railway track, with a total length of 28,5 km from Rotterdam to Scheveningen, build in 1908. The overhead track called the Hofbogen is nowadays a national monument considering it the longest building in the Netherlands.

The Hofbogen brings another problem on a local scale, since it separates the different neighbourhoods and is considered a barrier within Rotterdam North. The focus area of this project is called Bergpolder Zuid and is presented in the images above. The area was built between 1930 and 1936 and mainly consists out of housing, with some local facilities, a small park, a church and a school. In this project a new solution to integrate the Hofbogen within the neighbourhood is presented.

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