‘I am proud of every paving stone that is laid in the right direction’

This area does not have a clear center either. It is a collection of seven subfields. Right behind the train station, the transformation is most advanced. Here is the Schilperoort Park with the former university Cité Médicale from 1924. The old buildings, such as Pathology, have now been converted into live-work buildings. ‘Did you know that this is the most densely inhabited neighbourhood in Leiden?’ says architect and urban planner Henk Hartzema as we walk through the Schilperoort Park.

Inside and outside

Densifying the existing city is struggling with limitations. But you can’t tell from this part of the city. This is due to the urban planning choices that form the basis of the plan: plenty of functional mixing, adding housing and giving detached building blocks a high density, so that a lot of space remains around for a green and water-rich public space. It also keeps the green areas around the city open. This approach has now become commonplace for all kinds of densification locations in Leiden. Hartzema: ‘We were far ahead of our time with this project.’

Shoe boxes in green

Hartzema has been walking around Bio Science Park for more than fifteen years. The master plan he and his team made dates from 2009 and was commissioned by Leiden University and the municipality. Isn’t the plan a bit dated? Hartzema shakes his head. ‘We deliberately lay down very little in the master plan – we opted for so-called open planning. The less you record, the better you can stick to the things you do record. We work with a framework, but within it the interpretation – buildings, infrastructure, greenery – can change over time. This allows us to respond flexibly to social developments.’ However, the master plan does lay down a handful of rules for the interpretation of the framework – for example, that all buildings must have simple shapes, such as a shoebox: freestanding with visible sides on four sides. ‘In this way, the publicity of the space becomes maximal. We also don’t want fences around buildings. In doing so, we follow the old principles of Leiden’s city centre – where building walls also border public squares and streets.’

Leiden modesty

Hartzema is familiar with campus concepts. He made master plans for campuses in Tilburg, Eindhoven and Amsterdam and also monitors the quality of the development in these places as a supervisor.  The campus in Leiden has specific peculiarities. Hartzema: ‘The Leiden campus does not have a single owner, like most campuses, but sixty or seventy. You can never design the area completely new like that. I am more of a director than an urban planner here, and part of a large team that works together on area development. Sometimes I have to listen to people and then again I am the one who makes the decisions. My job is mainly to find common denominators and to get all parties to look in the same direction.’ This results in a slow process, but also a lot of satisfaction. Hartzema: ‘Every paving stone that is laid in the right direction or every planting of a new tree, I am proud of that.’ Although Leiden is known for its modesty – which can be seen, for example, in the unspoken architecture – the people of Leiden are slowly expressing themselves more and more proud of their city. In architecture, this is particularly evident in public buildings, such as Naturalis, a building that exudes individuality and self-confidence.

Inside and outside

At the same time, modesty is a great thing. Thinking from the point of view of the collective interest is in the city’s genes. Hartzema points to the façade of the company BaseClear, a laboratory that specializes in DNA analysis. ‘The young entrepreneurs who run the lab insisted on settling here, in the heart of the campus, where the public space is used most intensively.’ The building does not bear the name of the company but of the campus and the façade is transparent, so we can see how people in white coats are working in the laboratory rooms inside. ‘Such a modest and committed attitude towards the environment will help to bring more unity to the campus in the future.’ Such an attitude is not always obvious to the population of this campus. Hartzema: ‘Science students are often inward-looking. Just put them behind a work table and they are in their element. You can see that in the architecture – which is often introverted. While the idea of a campus is that new initiatives arise from cross-pollination. We do our best to open up the architecture by creating inviting entrances, corridors overlooking the street or workplaces at the window. With catering in the public space and events in specific places, we try to get a buzz in the area.’

Plans in coherence

You may wonder what the added value is of planning in conjunction. Why not develop seven different parts separately? That’s where the hefty master plan map comes in handy. Hartzema: ‘You can clearly see that the larger structures are valuable for the whole of Leiden – good cycling connections with the surrounding area and through the city, footpaths that are separate from the car and cycle routes, waterways and green areas.’ The approach fits in well with Leiden’s aim to improve biodiversity in the municipality. ‘For that you need a well-connected green structure and a sophisticated planting plan. Normally, you can hardly get that done in an area with so many parties. But now we can link such a task to the structure that is already in place because of the framework. It makes the city healthier and improves the quality of life. The whole of Leiden and the surrounding area will benefit from this.’