Changing public space

Table 6.9 Timeline of developments at the Van Heekplein
Year
Developments
1943-4 Several bombardments damaging parts of Enschede’s city centre
1956 Construction of Boulevard 1945 through the city centre
1991 Co-operation agreement between the municipality and developer MAB to make a master plan for the
Van Heekplein. The co-operation stagnated due to criticism of city centre retailers.
1995 First contact between the local government and Multi to discuss the redevelopment of the Van
Heekplein. Multi’s designer T+T made a plan for the Van Heekplein, but the municipality later
preferred to co-operate with West 8
1997 Decision of Holland Casino to open an establishment in the city centre of Enschede, which
accelerated the redevelopment of the Van Heekplein
1999 Urban design of the Van Heekplein formulated by the local government in co-operation with West 8
(Gemeente Enschede, 1999)
2000 Start reconstruction activities on the west side of the Van Heekplein
2001 Move of the weekly market from the Van Heekplein to the Oude Markt, construction of the casino,
Bijenkorf, Twentec tower, and western part of the underground garage
2002 Demolition and rebuilding of shopping centre Klanderij, reconstruction of the V&D, and construction
of the middle part of the garage
2003 Construction of the eastern part of the garage, redevelopment of the Van Heekplein (pavement and
new ‘square object’), return of the weekly market to the Van Heekplein
2004 Construction of kiosk on the Dagmarktstraat and the bus stop south of the Bijenkorf
Source: based on Gemeente Enschede (2004) and Interviews (2006)
textile industry, one of the mills located on the Van Heekplein was demolished, increasing the
square even further. Another textile mill was converted into a shopping centre, called Klanderij.
The Twentec-complex, which was constructed as textile world trade centre, had also become
redundant. Its exchange building was converted into department store Vroom & Dreesmann.
The Van Heekplein was never perceived as a nice public space. A publication of the foundation
of landscape architects described the square as follows:
The construction of a four-lane road through the city cut the square off from the city
centre, turning it into an isolated and unattractive place to visit. In recent years it had
become merely a car park. It was no match to the more convivial atmosphere of the
Oude Markt, with its cafés and church, the dynamic Stationsplein and the intimate
atmosphere of the square in front of the town hall. The only highlight was the weekly
market …. (LAE Foundation, 2006: 125, translation from Dutch by the author)
Although the Van Heekplein was not an attractive public space, it was an economically
important location of the city. The market, held twice a week on the square, attracted visitors
from the region and also the V&D and Klanderij were important assets to the retail function of
the city. However, the Boulevard 1945 was regarded as being an important obstruction between
the historic centre and the southern part of the city, including the V&D (see dotted lines in
Figure 6.15). The Van Heekplein itself was also perceived as barrier, because of its inhospitable
design. These barriers needed to be removed. Another problem was the primary conflict between
the market and parking function of the Van Heekplein: parking was not possible on market days,
while on these days the demand for parking space was most urgent. This conflict needed to be
resolved. Moreover, as discussed above, the city wanted to transform its image from a dominant
industrial city to a dominant retail city. This required an increase in the number of (large-scale)
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