Groenewoud (NL)

Inhabited milieu's challenges

Groenewoud is a typical post-war working-class neighbourhood with close family relationships but also social challenges such as inequality, health problems and social segregation. From the Municipality of Tilburg, there is a city-wide densification task of 25,000 housing units. These homes must land within the city limits to spare the valuable outdoor area and strengthen the existing city. For Tilburg South, this means realizing approximately 2,000 homes between the Ringbaan Zuid and the A58 freeway.
Groenewoud now contains mainly ground-level housing (81%), 60% of which is rented. More than half of the housing in the neighbourhood is corporation-owned (social rent), and a high percentage of households in the social minima category (14%). Due to demographic trends, there is demand for new housing typologies for one/two-person households, starters, seniors.
For the reflection area, the overall task is to Densify, Differentiate, Build on what quality already exists, and Provide decent housing. The area is under strong pressure (health, educational disadvantages, poverty) and that there is little social cohesion. The Europan participation is expected to contribute to more collectivity in the neighbourhood, strengthening social structures and liveability, enriching the existing housing stock by adding mixed housing typologies and realise new realtions to and uses for the green public space.
A fitting home for new and existing residents in quality green neighbourhoods.The present mature greenery can be used as spatial quality; from a green structure that divides to real living together in a forest, bringing together the best of city and landscape.

Questions to the competitors

Conceptualize and redesign a garden suburb in which a strong existing green character is re-thought and create and translate spatially to the Garden City of the Future.
Propose urban design plan, reorganizing the position of housing and school within the project area to signify the wider transformation and bring recognition and new identity for Groenewoud district as a whole.
Design new typologies for affordable and sustainable homes while reconfiguring the framework of Groenewoud, taking advantage of the surrounding dormant greenery to create a high-quality living experience.
How can innovative housing typologies and high-quality architecture be introduced though a thoughtful, collaborative process between local residents and housing associations?
At the scale of reflection area, redesign the existing green areas which act as barriers between neighbourhoods to become a network that connects the community and encourages its use by residents? Propose extensive ecological strategies to transform the mono functional green framework into an ecological thriving nature.
Propose shared spaces, gardens and programs that foster a sense of community and encourage social connections among residents, while also translating the ideologies of community living.