teun koolhaas (1940 – 2007)

Teun Koolhaas (1940 – 2007) Information: Koosje Koolhaas-Wagenaar Silodam 163 1013 AS Amsterdam The Netherlands koolhaaswagenaar@gmail.com www.teunkoolhaas.nl 1 - 4

Educated as an architectural engineer at the Technical University in Delft, and as an urban designer at Harvard and MIT, Teun Koolhaas designed the master plan of Almere New Town in The Netherlands at the start of his career in the beginning of the seventies while he worked from within the Lake IJssel Development Authority where he directed the design department. Since 1984, Teun has designed a dozen new or extended new towns with his office Teun Koolhaas Associates (TKA).

With 180,000 inhabitants Almere is now the largest new town in Europe, and the present policy for Almere to grow to 400,000 inhabitants is provided for in his recent IJ Meer Plan with co-designer Ellen Marcusse, which was presented to the national cabinet in June 2006.

In the Netherlands, where half of the country lies below sea level and which has a maritime history, the design and transformation of waterfronts is of national importance. From the very start of its foundation TKA was commissioned to design several major waterfronts. This has resulted in a high level of expertise in this specialized field. 2 – 4

TKA produced the urban design breakthrough for the 'Kop van Zuid' Waterfront in Rotterdam with over a million square meters of mixed-use buildings. The Erasmus Bridge over the river has been completed and has given the city a new image.

Teun Koolhaas had an open mind to developments abroad. TKA was successful in an international field by competing in Berlin, Copenhagen, Boston, Vera Cruz/Mexico, Riyadh, Quetta/Pakistan, Cairo, and in Shanghai where TKA won the competition for Gaoqiao New Town in the Shanghai region.

In 2002 he developed a concept on a large scale of the city region of Amsterdam, Schiphol International Airport and Almere, as presented on the map titled `Delta Metropool Noord'.

TKA designed and built a wide range of buildings; residential, offices, clinics, a theatre complex, yacht clubs, the Dutch embassy in Cairo, railway stations, a number of educational facilities, etc. Several of these commissions were obtained through design competitions. 3 – 4

From 2003 to 2006 Teun Koolhaas was involved with follow-up of the IJ Meer Plan through a prestigious joint commission given by the municipalities of Almere and Amsterdam. Part of this project is the design of Almere Pampus, the newest settlement to be built within the poly-nuclear master plan of Almere. A bridge symbolizes the relationship of Amsterdam and Almere as a mother and a daughter city. With a planned population of 60.000 inhabitants, of which half will be living along canals and around harbours, Almere Pampus will be maritime in character.

Cutting edge in this project was the focus, not only on architectural and urban aspects, but also on the natural aquatic environment through the development of underwater-landscapes, marshes, beaches, islands, sandbanks, etc. The term "urban nature" is coined for such "manmade" developments.

The design approach for these long-term projects was at the same time down-to earth and romantic. The presentations were straightforward with simple models that the public could understand. The design-type, such as for poly-nuclear Almere, was of an open-ended nature that could be phased financially.

4 – 4 On October 3rd 2007 Teun Koolhaas passed away in his hometown Amsterdam after a long bout with multiple myloma. He was a visionary designer on how our future environment may be shaped and managed.

Teun koolhaas

water colour painting by Teun Koolhaas 2004