Hoe is het nu met… Het Marineterrein?: An Amsterdam Urban Transformation Exhibition Guide

This piece explores the current status and future development of Amsterdam's Marineterrein, a historic site in the city center undergoing transformation. It details the area's past military use, recent agreements for its redevelopment into a mixed-use district, and current innovative experiments and architectural highlights.

This article from ARCAM delves into the evolution of the Marineterrein, a historically significant military site located in the heart of Amsterdam. Once a restricted area for naval development and operations since 1655, the Marineterrein is now being repositioned as a key area for future urban development in the city. The piece traces its history, from its origins with the Admiralty of Amsterdam to its designation as the Marine Establishment Amsterdam, and its eventual transition towards public accessibility and redevelopment after 2011. It highlights a significant compromise reached in March 2020 between the municipality of Amsterdam and the Ministry of Defence, allowing the city to reclaim a large portion of the area while Defence retains its barracks and a shared sports field. The article describes the Marineterrein not yet as a finished city district but as an active urban quarter and an innovative testbed. Visitors can observe experiments in areas like blue-green roofs for heat stress reduction and the installation of an artificial reef to enhance biodiversity in the inner harbor. Architecturally, the area features notable structures such as the Scheepvaartmuseum, Nemo Studio, the Marine Barracks, and a building inspired by Le Corbusier. The future vision for the Marineterrein includes approximately 800 to 900 new homes, though the redevelopment is anticipated to begin around 2026, with initial designs expected in the autumn.