In this design for Zuiderpark, a green component of the southern rim of 's-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), the city's entire cultural facilities are clustered in a 'festival building'. This elevates Zuiderpark to a venue for high-powered events and festivals with the festival building as the hub (and an essential component of both city and parkland).

The park design is predicated on two interventions. The introduction of sunken parking in a drained canal unhitches the old city from the surrounding development and strengthens the edges of the park. The northern edge is defined by the old rampart brought into view by digging the parking canal. A new edge on the south side manifests itself as a grandstand overlooking the city, an urban balcony. Together the edges constitute the focal points of the park design both programmatically and spatially. The northern edge accommodates sports and games above an underground car park for 1400 vehicles. The grandstand to the south embraces culture. The empty expanse in the middle, its programmes left unspecified, is the stage of 's-Hertogenbosch, a venue for unexpected events. This expanse is furnished with a carpet of infrastructure with terminals for lighting and electrical appliances.

The festival building is a public grandstand and part of the park on the one hand, a prime location for stage events and concerts on the other. For this latter purpose, the building houses an array of cultural facilities including two theatre auditoria, a discotheque, an exposition area, a restaurant and rehearsal rooms. The 200-metre-long stand is aimed at the park and the city and can seat 5,000. For the most massive events the two elements can be reversed, the stand becoming the stage and the park an auditorium accommodating thousands of spectators.

Place of education: TU Delft
Tutors: Pi de Bruijn, Peter de Zeeuw, Arie Krijgsman & Rogier Verbeek
Specialization: architecture.