The expansion of Schiphol Airport, the enlargement of Hoofddorp and the growth of the Haarlemmermeer as a strategic location within the Randstad has redefined the potential of the small town of Nieuw-Vennep. With some 10,000 new inhabitants projected in the next 10 years, growth is immanent.

In 2000, the municipality of Nieuw-Vennep commissioned the examination of the current and future potentials of its centre. The first of three commissions was an implementation strategy for the development, phasing and investment for the new centre.

This analysis initiated a framework strategy to achieve the complex problem of designing public space, public buildings, 280 new houses and 625 parking spaces in a village-like character. The second part of the commission was organised as a series of workshops with the residents to determine the ‘Vision’ for the new town centre and establish the starting points for the project. These starting points directly influenced, informed and constituted the material for the development plan.

The final proposal for the development plan in late 2002 was a scheme that explored the importance of public space for Nieuw-Vennep in terms of creating a real centre. The strength and success of any traditional city, town or village has a direct relation with the success of its public space. The plan was thus developed as a series of ‘urban rooms’ both large and small. These urban rooms are connected by a series of characterised streets, a special pattern derived from most traditional polder towns in the Netherlands.