CHARM OFFENSIVE WITH SERIOUS IMPACT>> understanding the intuitive methodology behind glamourmanifest

CHARM OFFENSIVE WITH SERIOUS IMPACT>> understanding the intuitive methodology behind glamourmanifest

Preface

The initial title of this research project was ‘From charm offensive to serious impact’, implying that Glamourmanifest was not making a serious impact just yet. It was November 2012 and I had arrived at the point where I felt we had to step up to the next level in Amstel3 office district and become a real project - with real physical results. And by taking that next step and gaining more influence in the urban transformation of Amstel3, I felt the responsibility to develop a better understanding of the complex social, political and economical transitions I was operating in as an urban designer. In the meanwhile Glamourmanifest continued her work, which allowed for a very symbiotic relation between experiment and action on the one hand and theory and reflection on the other. I spoke to a broad range of experts and continuously related this to my own experiences.

The research project helped me to get a deeper understanding of our own process and define a more structured future strategy for Glamourmanifest. Although our work is still in progress and we are continuously learning by doing, I aimed to distill the outlines of a methodology from our work in Amstel3. A big part of the work is intuitive and very site-specific, but I am convinced that a substantial part of the process is more generic and can be meaningful in other spatial projects too. The most striking lesson I learned is worth giving away in this preface. Being a designer, I was very sensitive to the reality of the physical project and the big gesture. However it became clearer and clearer that it was actually the incremental design of the enthusiastic local support base, that was making the difference. The charm offensive had been making a serious impact from the beginning. This explains the seemingly subtle change of the title. I am happy to share the lessons I’ve learned. I hope they will contribute to a new and extended toolbox for urban planners and designers, helping to reshape our profession in these exciting times. However, this report should not be read as a new blueprint. There seems to be a tendency among planners to search for the silver bullet, one clean and elegant process template that can be applied everywhere. In the conversations I had, the importance of sensitivity, adaptivity and an open and humble attitude towards the local community kept coming back. The essence seems to not become too systematic and directive, but to be really open and facilitative to the ideas that live in an area and listen to our intuition to improvise and adjust the process along the way. This is not only more opportune, it is also more fun.

Saskia Beer, founder of Glamourmanifest

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Table of Contents

Research Question 3

Research Setup 4

Amstel3 Living Lab 6

How it all Started 14

The Power of Metaphors 25

Breaking the Ice 28

Network & Community 36

Facts & Figures 42 Can You Transform My Building? 43

Lessons Learned 46

Data Synthesis & Spatial Visions 57

What’s Next? 62

Summary: Deriving a methodology 69 Sources 72

Colofon 73

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What are the most important changes in the context we are operating in as urban designers? What does this mean for our role, attitude and the toolbox we can use? And how can we make our added value visible towards other active players in the city?

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Research Setup

The ‘Charm offensive with serious impact’ project ran from December 2012 until April 2014. The goal is to gain a better understanding of the changing context that urban planners and designers are operating in. What lessons can we learn from (recent) theoretical research and what insights can we gain from the -partly intuitive- working process of Glamourmanifest in Amstel3? Can we distill the outlines of a new methodology and update the toolbox for urbanists in the complex, multi-stakeholder and often fragmented urban questions of today?

In this report two lines of work can be identified. The project started with an elaborate introspective and chronological evaluation of our own working process. As I was aware of Glamourmanifest’s pioneering character from the beginning, I documented the process quite thoroughly. As Glamourmanifest is learning by doing, sometimes we have to take decisions very quickly and intuitively. Often there is little time for reflection. Therefore, this was the perfect moment to critically analyse our process and our decisions. What turns out to be crucial for success and what should we have done differently?

After having formulated our own lessons learned and the priorities for our next steps, the research got a more outward focus. I set up a diner pensant with other designers who had formulated strategies and designs for Amstel3 in the last years. What are the experiences with and visions about the area and its problematic? What could we learn from each other’s ideas? Are there opportunities for collaboration?

I also wanted to test my ideas beyond my design peers and explore the broader context of our work. I compared my experiences with a broad selection of expert’s insights, opinions and predictions and tested them in our living lab. Between September 2013 and April 2014 there was a continuous feedback loop between literature and interviews and our own latest experiences.

I originally had the idea to sketch future strategy diagrams during the interviews. However, I soon found out that these diagrams were limiting the conversation too much. It was still based on the idea that specialists have detailed ideas of how all processes should go. Instead it turned out to be much more interesting to have real conversations, exchanging ideas and listening to them sharing their insights (which were sometimes broader and sometimes more specified to urban transformation).

These two lines of work are clearly recognisable throughout this report. The basis is Glamourmanifest’s own quest, which gets more and more enriched by a caleidoscope of insights from external sources. Towards the end I aimed to synthesise all material and translate the insights and experiences into a more methodological approach that could be helpful for other urban challenges as well.

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canals

amstel3

Amstel3 Living Lab

Amstel3 is the business area located at the Southeast edge of Amsterdam. The area lies between the A9 and A2 motorway and the railroad, connecting Amsterdam to Schiphol and Utrecht. The area covers over 110 ha with 115 office buildings. Influential companies like Cisco, Ikea, Bijenkorf, Reebok, V&D and McDonald’s have their headquarters here. Adjacent to the area one finds the AMC university hospital and Amsterdam’s main entertainment hub with the ArenA football stadium and the Heineken Music Hall.

Amstel3 once was a state-of-the-art office district, developed in the 70’s in a greenfield just outside the city. It was designed according to the latest trends and ideas about monofunctionality. The area is now facing a structural high vacancy rate (25-30%). Already in the 1990’s the municipality acknowledged that the area was outdated. There is a lack of liveliness and the public and private external space is primarily designed for the car. They published a new vision in 2008, instantly turning Amstel3 into a multifunctional and green neighbourhood. Due to the crisis, these plans could not be realised. However, the need and ambition to transform the area were still there. The main difference was that there would have to be a collaboration with the real estate owners in the area. The municipality started working on an alternative strategy, deciding that they would not purchase real estate from the owners, but facilitate initiatives from the market with a flexible zoning law (active since January 2014), the TREX financial tool (for the leasing of the ground) and a dedicated integral team of experts to advise and support the initiatives.

However, the fact that the local planning authorities withdrew from leading the urban planning process, did not automatically mean that the market was ready to take over this role. The stakeholder web in Amstel3 is complex and consists of approximately 26.000 employees, 200 companies, 80 real estate owners and 25 financiers. There is limited contact -and trust- between the various parties and in general a weak sense of ownership, engagement and initiative. Having no overview or central planning tools, makes it very difficult for stakeholders alone to arrive at a future urban vision and start initiatives.

This situation points out the lack of resilience and over-dependency on the government in the traditional (linear, top-down) planning of these areas. The question arises how these areas can be connected, activated and organised to ensure continuous adaptivity to change. How can they create alliances and make informed decisions and investments to update towards the urban and economic reality of today - and tomorrow? Is there a potential new role for the urban planner here?

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image: municipality archives amsterdam

image: municipality of amsterdam

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3-D impressie van mogelijke transformatie oostelijke zone Amstel III 2040 vanuit het zuiden

Luchtfoto oostelijke (kantoren-)zone Amstel III 2009 vanuit het zuiden

image: municipality of amsterdam

‘Fundamental change and innovation will not come from big institutions, like banks or governments. They will follow later, when new ways of working have been tested bottom-up.’- Herman Wijffels, interview

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image: glamourmanifest

A2 motorway

Amstel3:

110 ha

115 office buildings

80 property owners

25 financiers

200 companies

26.000 employees

25-30% vacancy12

‘Urban designers will be working much more situationally and be more sensitive and humble to what a specific (natural) context has to offer. ’- Herman Wijffels, interview

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How it all started

It is not only in the best interest of challenged areas like Amstel3 that urban planners and designers redefine their role. Since the beginning of the crisis, a large group of architects, urban designers and planners have been confronted with unemployment, less paid work and big projects that are put on hold with uncertainty about their continuation. The old business model of getting a commission from a client needs an update. I believe there is a lot of potential when we start our own initiatives, mixing our spatial expertise and problem solving attitude with our ability to communicate with different stakeholders and a healthy dose of entrepreneurship.

I lost my job at a small Amsterdam-based architecture office in summer 2009. I was shocked by the lack of resilience in our profession. Architects kept trying to get commissions from their former clients, but these companies did not have commissions to offer anymore. At the same time, various urban and spatial challenges emerged. Unbuilt plots, vacant real estate, urban areas in need of transformation. As I could not find a job anyway, I decided to proactively explore new solutions for these challenges and at the same time search for a new urban business model. In 2010 I received a startstipendium from Fonds BKVB (now Creative Industries Fund NL) to kickstart my journey.

A few days later, I met the project managers from Projectbureau Zuidoostlob at a conference ‘Leve de Leegstand’ in Trouw Amsterdam. This is the municipal department that was responsible for Amstel3 at that time. During an excursion in the area, the problematic of Amstel3 unveiled. Spatially we identified a high vacancy rate, complete monofunctionality, anonymous office buildings with mirrored facades, poor public space, deserted outside office hours and a complete focus on the car. As designers, we immediately came up with spatial solutions. However, underneath the visible Amstel3 lies a heterogeneous stakeholder web, very fragmented ownership of the real estate and often restrictive financial structures. With the municipality stepping back from implementing a new masterplan from top-down, the other stakeholders in the area would need to be activated to collaborate in some way. A tough yet fascinating challenge that might fit better to a small and flexible developer than to the traditional big companies. I decided to give it a try and set up a meeting with Zuidoostlob.

Thanks to the startstipendium, I could afford the time to experiment. Therefore I could offer the municipality an alliance, safeguarding my independence. In retrospect, this was an essential decision. By not being commissioned by the municipality, the process could take its time and did not have to show measurable output in an early stage. Later, our independence also turned out to be crucial to gain the trust from the market and to survive severe cost-cutting in the municipality.

The alliance we set up consisted of a range of mutual agreements. I would commit to supporting social inclusivity and the longterm goals for the area as set by the municipality (transformation to multifunctional

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neighbourhood and solving of vacancy problem). The municipality would commit to supporting me by means of their ambassadorship, network, knowledge and data and they would be my sparring partners.

At first my approach was rather architectural. I observed and analysed the area and defined interesting locations. Together with the municipality we selected strategic starting points, where modest interventions could make a big impact in the area. I made a booklet with a variety of quick Photoshop collages, unveiling alternative possibilities for the buildings and public space. Then I set up the first series of meetings with local stakeholders, like real estate owners, companies, the business association, citymarketing and (community) organisations elsewhere in Amsterdam Southeast. The collages functioned as a communication tool, stimulating the stakeholders’ imagination to see beyond the current situation and collecting valuable input about their opinions, challenges, ambitions, ideas and hesitations. By doing this, I got a first understanding of the priorities and the willingness, capacity and conditions to participate and invest.

This round of conversations resulted in a design proposal for three pavilions and a lighting installation in the green strip parallel to the railroad. The intervention anticipated on the municipal plans to build a Spoorpark here in a few years, immediately turning the space into a lively and representative strip. I refined my design visualisations and set out to acquire the budget I needed. Simultaneously, I spoke to several cafe and restaurant owners to test their willingness to jump in. It soon became clear that everybody liked the ideas and agreed that it would mean a great improvement for the area. Most real estate owners saw the need to have lunch facilities in the area, but were willing to invest outside their property only when all their neighbours would co-invest. One owner suggested we could make a restaurant in the old canteen on the ground floor of his vacant office building. However, no horeca entrepreneur wanted to go first or on his own, at least not without any additional risk-reducing incentives from the companies in the area.

The proposals were in the correct line of thinking to upgrade the area, but seemed too big steps to start with. I would first need to activate many more owners and companies and then we could build increasing trust with new (horeca) entrepreneurs. What the area needed was a longterm presence from somebody who was willing to go first and on her own and who could step by step seduce the others to join an attractive longterm mission. Only then could we develop new design projects.

A new urban mission was born and a few weeks later, on July 29th 2011, Glamourmanifest was launched to kickstart and katalyse the transformation of Amstel3 from monofunctional office district to lively urban neighbourhood.

‘In order to survive professionally, urban designers need to seriously redefine their work. They will need to be humbler and commit to a specific location for the long term, organising communities around their projects.’- Joost Beunderman, interview

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initial zones in amstel3 marked as strategic starting points (image: glamourmanifest)

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image: glamourmanifest

Theory U was mentioned during several interviews as a new approach to challenges and jobs (image: www.ninepointnine.com) 20

image: www.michelmolder.com

‘Something remarkable is worth talking about. Worth noticing. Exceptional. New. Interesting. It’s a Purple Cow. Boring stuff is invisible.’ - Seth Godin, The Purple Cow

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image: www.michelmolder.com

‘Our society is turning over from centralised and top-down to decentral and bottom-up. A new order emerges, consisting of horizontal relations. This new order still seems to operate under the radar, but is already forming a threat for the existing order. (...) This new order is pragmatic, diverse and diffuse and is driven by different values, which makes it difficult to grasp for the old one.’ - Jan Rotmans, Nederland in Transitie (blog)

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The power of metaphors

The launching of Glamourmanifest marks the shift in my activities from the focus on spatial design to narrative design. It had become clear over the past year that this would be a long process and there would be a great emphasis on communication and seduction. Not only Amstel3, but also the transformation mission itself needed to be branded. However I did not want to introduce a new (supply-driven) urban plan for Amstel3, without having a substantial group of stakeholders that would co-own the ideas. This would have put me on the other side of the table from them, pitching ideas for approval or disapproval. Instead, I designed a vision ad interim, a manifesto that would trigger stakeholders to envision their own ideas for the area and to keep dreaming about nicer solutions for their everyday environment. At a later point, these ideas and stories could be mapped and translated in new scenarios. It would then be easier to get support in formulating a vision that actually reflects their own ideas and needs. I formulated a consistent and recognisable set of methaphors. The manifesto deliberately makes urban planning more accessible to the (layman) citizen and company and turns it into a fun subject to think about and engage in. In the case of Amstel3 the glamour metaphor was chosen, for glamour is what the area is definitely missing at the moment and therefore it would catch the attention. We translated our serious ideas into a lighthearted and positive campaign that sets a nice and sharp contrast between the current situation and dreamed alternatives: the manifesto for more glamour in everyday life.

1. hard working people deserve champagne on a rainy monday morning 2. hard working people deserve golden lustre next to tube lighting3. hard working people deserve poetry next to annual accounts4. hard working people deserve rose scent next to exhaust fumes5. hard working people deserve finding new romance at lunch break 6. hard working people deserve exotic cuisine next to dutch dishes7. hard working people deserve killer heels next to grey suits

By starting Glamourmanifest unsolicitedly, both the designer/planner and Amstel3 were relieved from acquiring the approval of all stakeholders before the start. The threshold of collective decision making in this delicate early stage was removed. The dependence on big ‘go’s’ for small steps would have made the project unnecessarily fragile - and probably would have made it impossible. By initially presenting Glamourmanifest as an external initiative that was not yet attached to the area and its stakeholders, the burden of (public) failure lied with the initiator and meant minimal risk for the stakeholders themselves. This would have been different if the initiative had been named ‘Amstelmanifest’, claiming to speak on behalf of the area and suggesting a support base that was in fact not yet there. Glamourmanifest created a bubble of independence that allowed me to play, speak and act freely and test the response in and outside the area.

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The actual glamour manifesto can be understood as an interim urban vision, generating attention and enthusiasm in the area and ‘buying time’ to build a solid network, database and inventory of ideas, ambitions, priorities, needs and threats. By postponing the introduction of an urban vision or plan, we can introduce a vision at a later point that is a refined synthesis of the ambitions and needs in the area, ensuring that the stakeholders recognise their own input and interests in it.

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‘Collective intelligence also requires interpretation and signification. Without that, people are not moved and activated and won’t contribute unless from their own interest.’- Zef Hemel, De stad als brein

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Breaking the Ice

Glamourmanifest’s goal is to reinvent Amstel3 as an urban neighbourhood, respecting its business character (30% vacancy also means 70% occupancy) and enriching it with other functions and experiences. After having interviewed the majority of the stakeholders (representatives) over the past years, we formulated our mission as to gradually transform Amstel3 and help it manifest itself as a cutting edge and hospitable urban incubator for new economic developments and innovative crossovers between business, art, nature, technology, leisure and dwelling.

The transformation of Amstel3 can only be realised step by step. By offering longterm commitment and thereby building trust, thresholds can be taken away and stakeholders can gradually be seduced to join in and commit to the upgrading of their property and/or direct working environment. The traditional urban planning mentality (controlled process from first idea to completed result) is being replaced by a continuous presence and inspiring, connecting and activating of stakeholders. An open attitude and active listening allows to manoeuvre and adjust to changes and opportunities that manifest themselves along the way. By continuously and critically analysing the big goals and ambitions and translate them into strategic and if needed very small actions, the process never has to stop. Like this a fluid and dynamic process is guaranteed, regardless of longterm uncertainty or the lack of big go’s and investments. The general and the individual interests need to be connected cleverly in a coherent story, to which everybody can contribute and from which everybody can profit. When all stakeholders decide to take action together, the big stakeholder web suddenly becomes a strong asset. Then significant and sustainable value can be created and maintained.

From the beginning, the project was based on three interconnected pillars:

1. building a sense of community and awareness among the different users of the area2. physically upgrade the area (both public space and individual buildings)3. boost the reputation of the area in order to attract new target groups

Keeping these pillars as a starting point, Glamourmanifest designed and realised various -sometimes unconventional- interventions to immediately wake up the area and kickstart the dialogue about the possible futures of the area.

Our interventions started small, putting out a hundred gold spray-painted garden gnomes all over Amstel3’s public pedestrian routes on a Sunday night. On Monday the commuters were slightly distracted from their morning routine, walking to the office keeping their eyes to the ground. The next day, the gnomes had all been taken away. A few days later we spread posters in the area, introducing

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Glamourmanifest and the website. On our website, we asked to let us know whether the gnomes were doing fine and behaving well. We asked to send us a photo of the gnomes in their new habitat. Individual employees actually sent us photos and told us stories about how the gnomes had taken over their job, so they could drink champagne the whole day. Other companies invited us over for lunch, because they were interested in our mission to upgrade the area. The ice was broken, the first contacts established.

Some of our actions were aiming to anticipate on bigger projects. In May 2012 we organised the ‘One and Only Amstel3 Bulb Planting Festival’, celebrating the collaborative energy that the Floriade tender, which was running at that moment, was generating in the area. One of the tender partners, Seed Valley, provided us with 8000 lily bulbs and we invited as many people as possible from the area to help us planting them. Of course we drank champagne as well and listened to local singer-songwriters giving live performances. Even when Amsterdam did not win the tender, there was a concrete legacy to further build on. One and a half year later, we organised a collaboration between Cisco Netherlands and the municipality to plant a bee-friendly flower mix in the (public) grass lane between Cisco and the Bullewijk metro station, growing more biodiversity in the area for the bees that Cisco keeps on their roof as one of their CSR projects (via the Cisco Green Council).

As Glamourmanifest and their mission became more known throughout Amsterdam, more initiatives came to us to collaborate in Amstel3. In October 2013 we partnered up with communication agency Studio Meiboom, based in Amsterdam Southeast. Together we organised their concept MetroMovies, a one-day film festival underneath Bullewijk station. By organising an event on this specific location during rush hour, we could bring together the commuters from Amstel3 with the residents coming back home and visitors with their Ikea purchases in a very light and playful manner. That same weekend, the Glamourmanifest office was hosting an exhibition for the Open Art Route Zuidoost. This is also an external organisation that we were simply hospitable to.

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old style approachAn area is developed by a few parties (public-private), which requires a limited number of decisionmakers. The economy prospers and development is supply-driven. There is a strong trust in the growth of demand for space and big investments and risks are taken in an early stage of the project.

new style approachThere is a growing awareness that the current economic situation does not allow for big risks. As we are dealing with existing areas and stakeholders, more partners are required in collaborations. Investments are phased in order to test whether the de-mand develops as expected. Bottleneck is the fragile trust to invest, unclear demand and the fragmented ownership (in office districts). The question is how to really kick-start this process.

glamour style approachThe crisis turned out to be fundamental, so we should speak of a transition rather than a temporary dip. This means little security about the future. The traditional conviction that area development goes from first idea to completed result (‘done’) is replaced by continuous movement. It is about introducing, inspiring, connecting and activating the existing stakeholders. It is about never coming to a standstill due to the lach of long term security or big ‘go’s’, but rather analyse and translate the big goals into strategic and realistic action. In short, it is about getting started.

!

!?

?!

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‘Urban designers should be much more humble. Projects are not about design, but about places and about local communities and people.’- Fred Kent, www.pps.org

‘Self-organisation in neighbourhoods carries risks of exclusivity with it. Areas like Amstel3 don’t have fragile inhabitants, therefore there can be more experimental freedom here without causing harm.’- Justus Uitermark, interview

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Where initially Glamourmanifest had to organise everything itself, now it suffices to be hospitable with our space and network in the area. Like this more and more initiatives, visitors and positive energy are drawn to the area. Consequently, Glamourmanifest could focus more on analysing and synthesising all the data that we had collected over time.

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‘In placemaking light, quick and cheap (LQC) projects quickly translate a community’s vision into reality and keep momentum moving. Ideas can be efficiently implemented, assessed, then tweaked and customized based upon a community’s response.’- Fred Kent, www.pps.org

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Network & Community

Behind the scenes of our public activities, we focused on building a local network and contact database. By sending a monthly newsletter and actively including social media, the first lines of communication were set up. Like this we could track and share our progress, keeping our first contacts informed - and keeping the momentum while we were working on further growing our network and support base for more projects.

We invested much time and energy in building real relations with our network. Through face-to-face conversations we built trust and enthusiasm and collected valuable information for the future of the area. We mapped a large part of the stakeholders and their input about wishes, ambitions, hesitations and current initiatives, gaining further understanding of how the area works.

We are still working on extending and reinforcing the network and support base for future initiatives and investments. We do this in close collaboration with specific existing networks like VAZO business association and Zuidoost Partners citymarketing.

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‘In order to really connect people with different interests, it helps to practice deep listening. By being very aware and receptive, deeper and less conscious levels of meaning and intention can be heard in the other person. ’- Herman Wijffels, interview

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One of the tools we used for collecting data, is our Transformation Game: a board game where stakeholders can transform their area in ten minutes. They need to create a good function mix and attractive outdoor space and need to work together in order to achieve that. By documenting their choices and argumentation, we got a clearer idea of what they think is important and how they see the future of Amstel3. The game also proved to work well in the pub, making urban transformation accessible, interesting and fun for everybody.

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‘By engaging large parts of the urban population in planning, we should be able to achieve collective wisdom. The more these brains are connected, the more intelligent the city is. This is not translated into a ready-made spatial model. ’- Zef Hemel, De stad als brein

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‘The urban designer can be the intermediate between government, business and civil society. With his overview and synthesising and visualising skills, he can bridge the gap between different parties.’- Charles Landry, interview

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Glamourmanifest Facts & Figures

> 23 members (=sponsoring real estate owners and banks)

> 15 news letters sent to approx. 1000 recipients/companies

> ca. 30 public interventions and events in and about Amstel3

> 1 building transformed into coworking, meeting and cafe spaces

> 7 thematic stakeholder meetings about future of Amstel3

> 1 detailed contact database of local stakeholders

> 1 lovestory about Amstel3 (short film for Valentine’s day)

> various lectures/workshops about Glamourmanifest and Amstel3

> best practice in news letter Kantorentop 2014 (national task force)

> member Nederlandwordtanders (Chief Government Architect)

> Citymarketing Innovation Encouragement Award 2013

> ca. 50 articles and interviews published in various media > 762 followers op Twitter > 344 likes op Facebook

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Can you transform my building?

At first, some real estate owners suspected Glamourmanifest would be an architectural acquisition strategy in disguise. As I personally became increasingly attached to my new role as urban transformation agent, the trust in my longterm commitment to the area grew. And then suddenly one real estate owner asked me if I could help transforming his building. He stretched that he saw all this social energy being attracted to Amstel3 (in the public and virtual space), but that he didn’t see it being forwarded to the actual buildings. We decided to take this opportunity. It enabled us to create a publicly accessible physical interface to the neighbourhood, a space where we could program and showcase milestones in the Amstel3 mission. I picked up my metier and designed a relatively simple intervention, opening up the facade towards the public street and creating a public terrace for the new cafe, gallery/event space and flex working spaces on the ground floor. Apart from this building, Glamourmanifest will not get involved as an architect or project developer in other individual building projects in order to safeguard our independence.

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image: Auke van der Hoek

‘We need to design the decision making process before givingshape to buildings and areas.’- Manuel de Landa

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Lessons Learned:

1. don’t feel superior for small interventions

2. clearly map all stakeholders’ self-interests

3. dare to demand reciprocity from stakeholders

4. specificy and share your long-term plans

5. make your project pipeline transparant

6. don’t become rigid about supervising everything

7. own the process, share responsibility outcomes

8. persevere, transformation takes time46

Lessons Learned

1. don’t feel superior for small interventionsWithout an active network and a clear understanding of the challenges and goals of the area and its stakeholders, projects can’t be realised. As designers and planners we are used to stepping into a process at the point where basic agreements have been already made by local decisionmakers (often the client). In unsolicited projects that aim for realisation, these conditions need to be realised first. 2. clearly map all stakeholders’ self-interests The Glamourmanifest initiative was based on the fact that in and around Amstel3 many stakeholders can be found. By understanding all different interests and priorities and cleverly connecting them into a bigger and collective mission, many different resources can be combined to realise projects within this mission. At first however, we emphasised on the collective good in our conversations. Later we found out that individual meetings with commercial stakeholders were much more productive when we emphasised on their specific interests first. Like this, they automatically felt more responsible to engage in the collective mission and were less likely to free-ride.

3. dare to demand reciprocity from stakeholdersFor we focused on the collective goal of transforming Amstel3 in our communication, stakeholders often thought we were practicing charity. This was reinforced by the fact that initially people did not recognise our business model and thought we were either commissioned by the government or happy amateurs. We found out that -especially in a commercial business district like Amstel3- it is oke to present yourself as an entrepreneur who makes a living of this work. In the very beginning, both Amstel3 and Glamourmanifest were very fragile and I did not dare to demand too much before showing the potential value we could add. Later I became aware that I should start demanding more reciprocity from all stakeholders. Especially among real estate professionals this was a relief, as it occurred very healthy to them that we would all financially benefit from an attractive Amstel3.

4. specificy and share your long-term plansWhen the threshold for big interventions turned out to be too high, we started focusing more and more on small and realisable actions. Although we still had our big goals in mind, we stopped emphasising on them in our communication. After earlier unsuccessful big visions for the area, we didn’t want to paralyse stakeholders with plans that would not be realistic in the near future. We found out that this is true for the tenants in the area who want quick and concrete results. However, for owners and financiers the long term is still important, especially when decisions about investments are being made. As we gained influence in Amstel3, we were asked more often about our agenda for the area. Time has come to visualise and share our urban vision for Amstel3.

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5. make your project pipeline transparantOver the past years we tried to get many projects and events realised in Amstel3, but even with a shared intention initiatives often were not realised. Owners often liked the idea of having liveliness in the area, but for various reasons were not willing or able to open up their own building for expositions, performances or pop-up shops. Sometimes we formulated concepts for events ourselves and then went to commit partners, sponsors or funds. This way of working proved to be extremely fragile and much energy was lost behind the scenes. Sponsors often judged the gains to be too uncertain, as they were not yet convinced about the positive publicity value of the area. Sometimes they thought the plans were very promising, but the unknown territory would ask too much of their own team to make sure everything would go according to their standard. The result was that we put a lot of energy in projects with very uncertain results and if they were not successful in the end, we would be left with nothing to show. We learned that we need to be more transparant about what can be done and openly challenge others to join in and support us. Like this, we build shared ownership and responsibility for the success (or failure) of Amstel3 and its transformation.

6. don’t become rigid about supervising everything An important success factor is Glamourmanifest’s personal approach. By going out to talk to as many stakeholders (people!) possible, we built trust and enthusiasm and people know how to find us. However, they do not know how to find each other. As our network is growing and people know how to find us with their questions and ideas, there is the threat that we become the spider in the web and thereby the bottleneck in our own organization. In order to build a really strong and resilient network, we need to provide tools or platforms to connect stakeholders directly and let go of the supervision of all outcomes.

7. own the process, share responsibility outcomesThe only way for Amstel3 to survive sustainably, is to become resilient and self-organising. That means that we need to prevent that the stakeholders become dependent on one (central) organisation, whether it is the government or Glamourmanifest. Amstel3 is an area that is based on the traditional dichotomy of provider and consumer. By publicly taking the transformation mission of Amstel3 on our shoulder, we are easily understood as the provider, leaving the rest of the area as consumers. At the same time we own no assets in the area that we can decide about, like money or real estate. This basically makes it impossible to claim responsibility for the outcome of the urban transformation. By explicitly limiting the claim to the process and the tools we provide, we challenge the local stakeholders to take responsibility for their own fate. We stimulate self-organisation. This also means that success, goodwill and publicity will be more explicitly forwarded to and shared with the different stakeholders. Give credit where credit is due.

8. persevere, transformation takes timeThe first phase of transformation projects is tough and results are not immediately visible. We now feel that our investments are paying off. Thanks to the database we built, we can now organise networks or communities around specific themes or locations. By knowing the interests and priorities, we can strategically bring people and companies together. Also during our public interventions, our longterm presence and recognisable metaphors have built trust. People more often take a look or join us for a chat.

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‘More networked community relationships diversify skills and resources and support more adaptability. People in power, and professionals, no longer have to have the solutions and focus on selling them, but can instead gain power to lead change by acting as facilitators, resources and inspirations to change.’- Fred Kent, www.pps.org

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image: glamourmanifest

‘Technology will have a growing influence on our cities. Thanks to the internet, new networks and initiatives can emerge and gain support. This will mean a certain degree of anarchy.’ - Zef Hemel, interview

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‘With a new decentralised system where we are connected via networks, also comes a new relational ethics.’- Herman Wijffels, Lowlands University

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image: glamourmanifest

‘The key elements in creating a micromovement consist of five things to do: 1. publish a manifesto, 2. make it easy for your followers to connect with you, 3. make it easy for your followers to connect with each other 4. realize that money is not the point of a movement, 5. track your progress.’- Seth Godin, Tribes

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‘By collectively acquiring assets, like buildings, the community becomes a more serious partner for both the government and the market. Then they need to be well-organised.’- Annemarie Naylor, interview

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‘How do (self-organisation) initiators ensure egalitarian, diverse and open networks in spite of tendencies of power concentration, exclusion and bureaucratization?’- Justus Uitermark, Verlangen naar Wikitopia

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Data Synthesis & Spatial Visions

It is time to translate all data, trends and insights into an urban vision that reflects the local input and share this with the network. It makes our longterm agenda transparant and invites the network to join in and give their opinion, bring in new ideas and communicate what contributions they are willing to make. We get the impression that the new flexible zoning law that was implemented in January 2014 offers a lot of freedom, but also provokes some fear about what the neighbours could do and what that could mean for one’s property. Now the first investors and developers are looking around to buy (nearly) bankrupt real estate, the fear for low-quality transformations grows. On the other hand we see a lot of shared ideas and ambitions for the area, like mixing the offices with cafes, parks and housing. We feel the moment is right to visualize this shared vision and take the first steps realising it. Local coalitions like ZuidoostZuid and Campus ArenA become more important partners to join forces in upgrading their subzones.

The need for a shared urban vision in Amstel3 raises the important question what that vision should look like? As a substantial part of the investments needed for making this vision reality need to come from the stakeholders, the vision needs to be flexible and capable to adapt to their specific new insights, ambitions and initiatives. At the same time it is our responsibility as spatial designers to combine all these individual ideas with our own insights and knowledge and propose a plan that is more than the sum of its parts.As this question arose, we planned a diner pensant with a group of urban designers and architects who have all been making plans and proposals for Amstel3 during the past years. We exchanged ideas about the nature of the area, the nature of our plans, the differences and overlaps. Content-wise, we were not that different. We all tried to find strategic approaches to get the stakeholders to move with us. However, the design tools and media that we used, were not solving the problem of ending up in a drawer. At their core they were aiming at convincing a (virtual) client, like the municipality, a competition jury or an organisation of stakeholders that in reality is not organised. The good thing is that all ideas still seemed up-to-date, so there may be possibilities for future collaboration.

We kept asking ourselves the question how we should define this urban vision. How detailed should it be? Should it be cut into phases and what defines a clever phasing? We decided to collaborate with a young urban design student, Theo Brouwer, who would graduate on this topic. We defined the opportunities on the regional scale and made our own analysis of the area. We then added a layer of all initiatives and ambitions that we encountered with the different stakeholders and mapped them. We then identified ‘high energy zones’. Like a heat map, we could identify places in the area where a lot of stakes overlap. These would make strategic starting points for physical upgrades. At the same time, it was still unclear how we should communicate this vision. My impression grew that we completely had to redefine the masterplan and think of a completely new interface between the area, its stakeholder web and the transformational goals. I wanted to further develop the implementation of crowd funding in Amstel3, unleashing and combining different resources on different levels into a strong and collaborative local movement.

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image: Theo Brouwer (NHTV/glamourmanifest)

‘We have all ingredients for the transformation to a new system. It is about the will and organisational capacity to do it. We need space for emergence: an open system that allows new ideas to grow rather than fixates what we have. We need a decentral system that connects us via networks, based on the model of the internet.’- Herman Wijffels, Lowlands University

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learning from the internet to go from fragile to more resilient local networks (image: glamourmanifest) 60

‘Triangulation is the process by which some external stimulus provides a linkage between people and prompts strangers to talk to other strangers as if they knew each other.’- Holly Whyte (via Fred Kent, www.pps.org)

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What’s next?

1. Build an interactive interfaceLast but not least we started with the development of the interface as mentioned in the previous chapter. Together with Burton Hamfelt Architecture Urbanism Prototypes (also present at the diner pensant) I developed a concept for a new digital (open-source) interface that enables all local stakeholders to actively engage in the transformation of their urban environment. The platform is both intuitive and analytic and based on a relevant and organized set of open and user-generated data, customized to the specific needs of Amstel3. The interface unleashes and facilitates the collective intelligence, creativity, decisionmaking and investment needed for building sustainable future visions and concrete actions. While citizens are more eager than ever to participate in the creation of new values in their immediate environment, city governments are no less eager to release open source data sets and GIS maps allowing people to participate in city planning. What if stakeholders were to share, model and interact with this collective knowledge, can we come up with more ingenious solutions to many of our urban challenges today? What if we as architects and planners could create a digital urban information model as a living laboratory for businesses and owners and manage the continuous development of a shared urban vision for Amstel 3? (Text taken from project plan ModelMe by Burton Hamfelt and Saskia Beer)

2. Spatially follow the energyBased on our energy maps we will formulate ca. 3 strategic spots where we will bring together the specific stakeholders and identify the ambitions to collaborate in a concrete upgrading project. Based on the real stakeholder input, we sketch an urban design for these locations. Important to mention is that these designs are starting points, communication tools to put on the table when we sit together with these specific stkaeholders. By sharing our ideas and challenging them to express theirs, we can further test and refine the solutions and build the necessary support base for eventually realising them. This is still work in progress at the moment.

3. Keep the buzz goingWe will work on an augmented range of public interventions. We set up a collaboration with concept development office ‘The New Verbalizers’ for the project Re:land (www.relandAMS.com). Within this project we collaborate with several young artists and thinkers and with local companies to formulate clever and interesting interventions in public space. At all our interventions we leave a #Amstel3 tag, allowing the people in Amstel3 to recognise the sender and trigger them to google this hashtag to find out what is going on in the area. This summer we will release a collaborative intervention with IKEA, where we co-created a set of public seatings. We will also keep working on attracting more interesting events to Amstel3, like festivals and exhibitions.

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‘The big data development will have a tremendous impact on how we plan and organise our cities, we don’t know exactly how just yet.’- Joost Beunderman, interview

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image ModelMe: Burton Hamfelt Architecture Urbanism Prototypes 64

‘Digital media could give shape to the urban public in new ways, allowing the city to revive as an open and democratic ‘community of strangers’. - Martijn de Waal, De stad als interface

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green

health

vitality

carecampus

dwellingcreative

incubators

education

studentstech

entertainmentleisure

(co)working

food

sports

image: Theo Brouwer (NHTV/glamourmanifest)

‘The quality of place a city offers can be summed up as an interrelated set of experiences. You can do more than be a spectator; you can be part of the scene (...) and have a hand in creating the experience rather than merely consuming it. (...) Many members of the Creative Class also want to have a hand in actively shaping the quality of place of their communities. (...) Creative Class people seek places that are themselves a challenge and where they can help craft the future (....) “we want a place that’s not done”.’- Richard Florida, The rise of the Creative Class

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‘Professionals need to continuously tune, connect, find a shared rhythm and improvise in order to operate successfully in any urban question. This process functions as a jazzband rather than an orchestra, it is organised freedom. Bottom-up initiatives who professionalize should be careful not to become directors. This might stimulate a more passive attitude in a community.’- Hans Boutellier, interview

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Summary: Deriving a methodology

image: glamourmanifest

1

2

3

4

5

6

explore the area, observing with all your senses

start building a local network & inventorizing stakeholder input

launch a campaign, sharing your intentions & activating your support base

develop profound understanding local challenges & transformational goals

build interface to connect network to each other & to transformational goals

catalyse and curate the continuous cocreation of a future urban vision

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‘It is good for the government to collaborate with the market, but there is the threat of intertwining too much. There is a need for a neutral zone where they can meet and work with each other.’ - Zef Hemel, interview

‘Neighbourhoods with active self-organisation are vulnerable to be taken over by the market as soon as the economy recovers. Bottom-up initiators need to professionalize in order to secure their position -and the values they create- on the long term.’- Justus Uitermark, interview

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image: www.michelmolder.com

Sources

literature

Tribes, Seth Godin (2008)Purple Cow, Seth Godin (2005)De Stad als Interface, Martijn de Waal (2013)The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida (2003)Verlangen naar Wikitopia, Justus Uitermark (oratie Erasmus Universiteit, 10 January 2014)De improvisatiemaatschappij, Hans Boutellier (2010)De Stad als Brein, Zef Hemel (oratie Wibaut-leerstoel UvA,13 September 2012)Compendium for the Civic Economy, produced by 00:/ (2011)In het oog van de orkaan, Jan Rotmans (2012)

www.pps.orgwww.zefhemel.nlwww.charleslandry.comwww.janrotmans.nlwww.vimeo.com/47764053 (lecture Herman Wijffels at Lowlands University)

Quote Manuel de Landa as heard during lecture ‘Play the City’, Ekim Tan (2014)

interviews

Zef Hemel, Urban Planning Department City of Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam (7 October 2013)Joost Beunderman, Hub Launchpad, 00:/, Demos (14 October 2013)Annemarie Naylor, Common Futures (16 October 2013)Charles Landry (27 November 2013)Hans Boutellier, Verwey-Jonker Instituut, VU Amsterdam (2 December 2013)Justus Uitermark, University of Amsterdam (5 December 2013)Herman Wijffels, Utrecht Sustainability Institute (17 December 2013)Fred Kent, Project for Public Spaces (21 April 2014)

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Colofon

Research and report: Saskia BeerEvaluation Support: Sietske Voorn

GlamourmanifestPaasheuvelweg 34h1105 BJ Amsterdam+31 (0)6 414 82064

info@glamourmanifest.nlwww.glamourmanifest.nl

Copyright © 2014 Voile Architecten, all Rights Reserved.

This research project was made possible thanks to the financial support of:

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