In the reinforcement of homes in the earthquake area in Groningen, the emphasis is too one-sided on speed and budget, at the expense of the quality and unique character of the area. Government Architect Francesco Veenstra therefore wants architects to play a role in the reinforcement operation.
‘Architects are able to place a design in a spatial context’, he wrote in a letter to State Secretary Hans Vijlbrief (Mining) on Thursday.
Reconstruction after WWII
Veenstra compares the reinforcement operation with the reconstruction after the Second World War. The new houses that are built will last fifty or even a hundred years and several generations will spend their lives in them, he writes. ‘This requires professional guidance from residents and owners in an area where buildings are built with a past and where the future is being shaped at the same time.’
Architects are trained to guide residents and clients from the first design to completion and must therefore be given a ‘fundamental role’, he says.
Missed opportunity
Veenstra says he understands that the earthquake vicissitudes have dominated the lives of the residents in the affected area for years and that they would like to see a hurry. ‘But’, he warns, ‘really essential subjects such as an eye for the unique landscape and monumental qualities of the area, the economic potential, energy transition, the use of sustainable building materials and climate resistance are only discussed to a limited extent’.
He calls it a ‘missed opportunity’ if the reinforcement operation is completed in 2028, as the cabinet wants, without improving the quality of life in the area and the built has no added value for future generations.