ARCAM’s Veldhospitaal: Exploring Climate Resilience and Urban Design in Amsterdam
How do we design a city when the future is increasingly uncertain? The Amsterdam Centre for Architecture (ARCAM) recently explored this urgent question through "Veldhospitaal" (Field Hospital), an immersive, participatory theater experience developed by the theater collective Gouden Haas. Commissioned as part of ARCAM’s annual theme, Een Optimistisch Rampenplan (An Optimistic Disaster Plan), this project brought local citizens, designers, and researchers together to confront the realities of environmental crisis and urban vulnerability.
Rather than static displays, the program transformed local spaces—such as churches, vacant offices, and gyms—into active emergency shelters. Visitors and participants were prompted to think about immediate survival, neighborhood support, and the systemic challenges facing Amsterdam's built environment.
Exploring Climate Resilience in Amsterdam's Neighborhoods
The core of the Veldhospitaal project lies in its simulation of a localized crisis. Inside the temporary shelters, participants were asked to imagine being isolated together for 72 hours. This setting served as a springboard for deeper discussions about global issues like climate anxiety, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss.
Through structured activities, participants engaged with complex ecological questions. For instance, a dilemma-based game prompted visitors to weigh the pros and cons of modern ecological transitions, such as the environmental trade-offs of lithium mining for green energy.
The experience concluded with practical workshops designed to build personal and collective agency. Partnering with the transition research institute Drift, the project hosted interactive roleplaying sessions to help people identify their roles in community transitions—whether as disruptors, organizers, or stabilizers. Discussions with climate psychologists also offered a space to process climate grief, transforming feelings of helplessness into constructive community action.
How Amsterdam's Architects in Residence Are Responding to Crisis
As part of the initiative, ARCAM's Architects in Residence shared their design-led research targeting specific areas in Amsterdam. These localized projects highlight how different neighborhoods face distinct environmental and social challenges:
Damp Housing in Amsterdam Noord
In Amsterdam Noord, designers from BRIGHT and Verdedig Noord addressed the persistent issue of household mold. Because many of these homes are constructed on wetlands, conventional temporary repairs often fail. The research argues that local authorities must acknowledge these ecological realities and prioritize building new, affordable replacement housing elsewhere in the district, while designers help communities navigate the emotional process of relocation.
Industrial Margins in Haven-Stad
In the rapidly developing Haven-Stad area, urban planners from MUST examined the ethical tensions of designing new residential spaces close to industrial zones. To represent the difficulties of planning in highly polluted environments, they worked with participants to build a temporary monument out of local waste. This collaborative installation prompted discussions on how designers can remain transparent about environmental hazards while still contributing to housing developments.
Local Networks in Amsterdam Nieuw-West
Designers Ruba Ammiwala and Jeffrey Bolhuis focused on emergency preparedness in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Noting that individual survival kits are only short-term solutions, they proposed building collective resilience. They are currently developing a universal neighborhood coding system to help residents quickly locate crucial shared resources like clean water, food, power, and information during a crisis.
Group Bookings and Program Information
While the public performances have concluded, organizations and groups can still engage with these concepts. Customized iterations of the Veldhospitaal experience are available for private groups of up to 50 people. To learn more about organizing a tailored session, you can contact Marieke Nooren at [email protected] or download the project brochure provided by Gouden Haas for detailed organizational requirements.
To discover more about how local design initiatives are shaping the future of the city, explore other cultural landmarks and museums in Amsterdam or check out current design events on our whats-on exhibition list at Musemap (musemap.art).
