| 1983 |
It took until
1983 for a formal planning document ('globaal bestemmingsplan')
to be approved of by the city council (May 26th). It was
the first planning
document ever for 'De Uithof' with legal status to be
formalized. Not surprisingly residential areas were included
and also not surprisingly, the university had objections
to this plan and started procedures to have the plan rejected.
These procedures took several years and finally in 1989 the
university got its way at the 'Crown', the highest legal
level. |
| 1984 |
In 1984 a fresh master builder started
working at 'De Uithof'. Aryan Sikkema saw the need to rethink
the campus. He managed to bring in Rem Koolhaas and his Office
of Metropolitan Architecture. |
| 1985 |
Febr. 12th 1985, the Provincial Government
formally approved of the 1983
planning document, with the
exception of the residential areas. At the end of 1985 OMA
was commisioned to study the future possibilities of 'De
Uithof'. The bureau produced its views in the sketch 'Uithof
2000'. |
| 1988 |
OMA was commisioned to develop a spatial
plan for 'De Uithof'. Architect and urban developer Art Zaaijer
introduced awareness on two main qualities for the area:
the strenght of the old underlying park meadow landscape
and the remains of the orthogonal grid of the original
planning by Van der Steur. The one-liner would become
'cross or diagonal is old and straight is new'. Both qualities
needed re-enforcement according to the priciples of the new
plan, which meant that the underlying landscape should be
kept intact and where necessary reconstructed and that the
built areas were to adhere strictly to the orthogonal orientation.
Within the strict border of the 'clusters' all building and
paving is allowed for. The city of Utrecht was happy to accept
the plan as the underlying structure for a new formal planning
document that were to replace the disputed one. OMA, Art
Zaaijer,
was appointed supervising urban developer and still holds
this position, though no longer connected to the bureau of
Koolhaas. He started his own architectural firm. |
| 1989 |
August, 29th 1989: document KB 89.02.0610
was published. The 1983
'bestemmingsplan' was now formally ruled invalid concerning
the residential elements. Oddly, this means that for the north
eastern part of 'De Uithof', building activity can only be
reviewed against a 1960s outline
of a planning document by
the town of De Bilt. 1989 is also the year in which the Academic
Hospital officially opened. |
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© Edwin Walvisch
for New York Times |
