Platform on civil engineering, underground infrastructure, energy, construction equipment & construction machinery
The Amsterdam-based architecture firm NEXT Architects has been working for more than twenty-five years on a wide range of projects throughout the Netherlands: from schools and housing to transformation projects and infrastructure. It is precisely this infrastructure that forms an important pillar within the firm. The infrastructure team is involved in both the planning phase and the execution, and works closely with contractors, landscape architects and clients. This also applies to the widening of the A2 motorway between the Het Vonderen and Kerensheide interchanges. A project in which, according to founding partner Michel Schreinemacher, design, technology and quality of life come together.
The A2 has a long history as a parkway: a highway with a distinctly green and scenic character, Schreinemachers says. “That starting point played a central role in the tender phase. Although the selection revolved mainly around themes such as livability and environment, the tender already contained an aesthetic program of requirements. We translated that into, among other things, the design and layout of the artworks. Together with VERBEEK we also looked at how the existing planting could be preserved, where it should be strengthened and how trees could be planted early in the process to quickly create a green image.”
The landscape plan was further developed by the VERBEEK agency using the parkway concept with a transparent and a dense variant, with lots of tree planting and a mix of species to enhance biodiversity. In the transparent parkway, the trees are crowned to preserve the view of the landscape, while still giving the highway a green look,” Schreinemachers explains. “At the same time, a lot of attention is paid to the human scale in the process. After all, a highway is a major barrier in the landscape, especially when it is widened. That's why all artworks are designed to be experienced as pleasantly as possible, with refined detailing, green views and careful material choices.”
A total of fifteen new artworks will be realized. “The landscaping and design are laid down in an integral design plan of almost 300 pages, drawn up in close coordination with the Department of Public Works and the aesthetics committees of three municipalities,” says Schreinemachers. “A special design challenge arose with the arrival of the gated bat. This led to the addition and modification of several structures, including special fauna passages with planting, fitted with slanted screens and irregular slat patterns to provide a safe flight corridor for the bats. In terms of image, the design of these passages is consistent with the other viaducts, yet with a character all its own.”
Implementation has now started. Schreinemachers: “We remain involved until completion as part of the Boskalis team together with the VERBEEK agency, are regularly on site and coordinate with the Department of Public Works. In this way we monitor that what is realized outside actually matches the design ambitions: a highway that is functional, and at the same time carefully fitted into the Limburg landscape and into our living environment.”
