Plans for Nieuw Kralingen unveiled

A true city district with a romantic and warm character, seamlessly connected with the nearby green Kralingse Bos and Kralingse Plas. That is the ambition for Nieuw Kralingen: a new residential area on the northeast side of Rotterdam, located on the former business park ‘Boezembocht’.

West 8’s recently revealed design vision demonstrates a differentiated neighborhood with a wide variety of housing typologies. It accumulates several benefits: the comfort and safety of a modern and spacious neighborhood, great connections with Rotterdams’ nearby city centre and the recreational areas Kralingse Bos and Kralingse Plas, and an atmosphere that draws inspiration from the distinctive qualities of the wider Kralingen area.

Nieuw Kralingen has meandering streets and lanes with mostly low-rise dwellings. Only on the outside borders apartment complexes of up to four levels high are planned. Adriaan Geuze: “The streets have views on the forest edges, while one lane overlooks the Kralingse Plas and its two windmills. The forest paths are tangibly extended into the neighborhood.”

Programme
By developing Nieuw Kralingen, the city of Rotterdam aims to increase its supply of centrally located spacious homes and respond to the demand of families and senior citizens with higher incomes. 

Property developers Heijmans and ERA Contour will build a maximum of 800 homes in the coming years, together with the municipality. On the north side a new business park will be created as a transition between the current one and the new homes. Nieuw Kralingen is considered the largest urban expansion within the Rotterdam ring road within the next years.

Supervision
The design vision is the result of a more than one and a half year of research, in which entrepreneurs, citizens and local government representatives were asked for advice. It includes spatial and technical preconditions and formulates the ambitions for sustainability and quality.

Multiple architects will be appointed to design individual houses or housing blocks. West 8 will supervise their work, to accomplish a coherent appearance while stimulating both architectural diversity and a timeless character.

Read the interview with Adriaan Geuze about Nieuw Kralingen in Algemeen Dagblad from 1-2-2018 (Dutch only).

More information: Gemeente Rotterdam