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Rijswijk shopping area to become green town centre

In de Bogaard, one of the Netherlands’ first modern shopping centres, is set to transform into a green, pleasant town centre. The shift is one of 10 ambitions formulated in a plan PosadMaxwan is drawing up for the shopping area in Rijswijk. A draft was recently presented to the city council. The municipality commissioned us and APPM Management Consultants to create an urban master plan for the area.

Full of potential

The shopping centre has for some time suffered from structural vacancy, which has detracted from its formerly inviting air. In de Bogaard’s favourable position and the expected growth of Rijswijk, however, offer abundant opportunities for transformation. We are working on a master plan to turn In de Bogaard from a monofunctional island into an attractive urban centre for living and working with improved links to the surrounding area and a greatly enhanced quality of life.

 

Development aims

We have drawn up a development framework and are now expanding it into an urban master plan. The addition of greenery to the area is one component of the framework. Another goal is to transform at least 17,500 m2 GFA of current retail space. The result will be a more compact shopping centre and better transport links. The redesign will shift the focus to lingering and socialising. The functions and design will be geared to this goal.

More housing, better links

The master plan will provide for the addition of housing and social functions, mainly in the northern part of the current shopping centre. This will result in approximately 2,000 new homes in and around In de Bogaard, including those already under construction. The master plan also provides for plenty of new links with the surrounding neighbourhoods and the redesign of Prinses Beatrixlaan to enable structural changes to the area’s character.

The city council will consider the final version of the plan in spring 2019.