competition Dorpsbouwmeester
| client: | Dorpsbouwmeester, stichting Wasteland |
| design: | Benjamin Robichon |
| project team: | Daniël Grünberg, Ramon Acha Valls, Kirsten Dijkgraaf |
| location: | Zeestraat, Den Oever |
| design: | July 2012 |
location
Den Oever has potential to attract a large number of visitors. Currently, Den Oever knows 7.000.000 passers. Next to this, Dudok’s monument on the Afsluitduik is visited annually by 300.000 people. Then there is the water connection between the Waddenzee and the IJsselmeer providing 30.000 water and sailing passers.
The renovated and upgraded parts of buildings in the Zeestraat are called ‘Pop-Ups’. These Pop-ups are temporary residence places, which might function as single hotel rooms or as clustered hotel rooms. All Pop-Ups are autonomous working objects, linked to the existing buildings. 
assignment
The project ‘Pop-Up Zeestraat’ proposes a strategy containing the revitalization of an old shopping street into an artery of tourism and recreation. This strategy is part of the urban masterplan of Knevel Architecten for Den Oever, in the north-west of the Netherlands, near the Afsluitdijk.
design
The dike between the village of Den Oever and the harbour is named the Havendijk. The Havendijk contains a gap; called a ‘coupure’. By this coupure, the Zeestraat in Den Oever is spatially connected to the harbour. Because the Havendijk no longer meets current standards, it must be raised. The current buildings of the Zeestraat will be renovated and upgraded. The project consists of the idea to create an additional space in order to give back visual sight towards the harbour, also after the dike is raised. In addition, it is necessary that the Zeestraat strengthens the connection between the village and the harbour. In order to achieve this, point wise differentiations in the streets are added. By these programmatic and spatial differentiations, the connection between the harbour and the village is accentuated. Currently, an investigation is started by the Municipality of Hollands Kroon for a new ‘coupure’ in the Havendijk. As an extension of the Kapelstraat, this new coupure might replace the current coupure at the Zeestraat. Or, both coupures could stay intact and cooperate.
The remaining space next to the hotel room, can be made suitable for public services and housing. On the ground floor Pop-up stores can be developed for recreational shopping. By attracting tourism and providing hotel rooms, the Zeestraat can be interesting for local entrepreneurs to rent a Pop-Up space for one week, one month or one quarter of a year. This requires a certain neutrality of the shopping space, so shopkeepers can adjust the space suitable for their shop. The facade of the Pop-Ups might be executed of wood from a forest in the neighbourhood and solar panels can be applied to generate sustainable energy.
