integral vision The study for the redevelopment of Kanaleneiland is part of a major survey to develop a comprehensive vision on Utrecht’s city centre- Kanaleneiland axis. This axis runs through four areas: Transwijk, the Centre, Churchill Park and the water zone of the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal. Mecanoo’s plan will emphasize the identity of each of these zones and define central mobility as a connecting factor.
points Kanaleneiland is a typical post-war neighbourhood with little variety of housing typologies and little attention to quality. The district no longer meets the needs of our time and is up for nomination for restructuring. Kanaleneiland offers some good places to start. The district is strategically located between the old city centre and the new district of Vleuten - de Meern to the new HOV route, which runs until the Papendorpse bridge. A beautiful connection is made to the new business district Papendorp. Kanaleneiland features good facilities including a large shopping mall and several schools. And there is, last but not least, the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal.
one neighbourhood In Mecanoo’s plan, Papendorp and Kanaleneiland will be regarded as one district, with the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal and the river park at its heart. To express this the ground to the bridge will be elevated. A new neighbourhood is planned between Kanaleneiland and the bridge, consisting of eight different islands and a strip meant for common facilities and office space. This strip links Kanaleneiland Shopping Centre with the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal. By connecting to the urban structure of paths and roads on Kanaleneiland this new neighbourhood is interwoven with the existing neighbourhood.
double typology Kanaleneiland features comfortable apartments and townhouses with compact city gardens and will also have the ‘double-decker’ typology that Mecanoo also applied for the Nieuw Terbregge project in Rotterdam. Typical of the 'double-decker' is the doubling of the ground area by use of wooden deck construction, also creating an attractive playground for growing children. The stone streets below the deck serve as car parks.
high apartment buildings and townhouses Also in Churchill Park the parking will be underground as much as possible. A composition of high apartment buildings looking over the canal and the central axis has been designed for this area. Additionally, mansions like the seventeenth-century mansions that adorn the centre of Utrecht will be built here. To emphasize the mobility axis that runs through the area the Kanaleneiland shopping centre will be changed so that it faces the axis. Green, well-lit paths form a connection with the axis and make the currently closed enclave an open and friendly whole.