Paleiskwartier hailed as Dutch national landmark

The Ministry of Physical Planning Housing and Environment in the Netherlands has recognised the masterplan of the Paleiskwartier in Den Bosch amongst one of only 35 landmarks which have contributed to the Making of the Netherlands in 250 years.

Over the last two years the Ministry has compiled a list of interventions and projects which have come to symbolise the history of the making of the Netherlands.  An arduous selection process, including public internet voting, resulted in a shortlist list of 75. This was further condensed by a professional jury to the final selection of 35 projects.

Masterplanned by Dutch practice Khandekar (which has since joined forces with BDP to become BDP.Khandekar in 2008) the Paleiskwartier is included for “the exemplary way the masterplan, in a public-private partnership, has given a new identify to a dilapidated industrial area turning it into a new station quarter.” 

The area has also been acknowledged as one of Europe’s most ambitious dynamic and architecturally distinguished urban regeneration schemes based on Khandekar’s urban design principles and insistence on high quality architectural design.  Limited architectural competitions were held for each block within the masterplan area, one of which was won by BDP for its award winning Armada housing development.

BDP director Shyam Khandekar said “when my fellow director, Liesl Vivier,  and I started this project more than twenty years back we had not anticipated this!.  It is wonderful news.”