Submarine Channel

Adriaan Geuze is the director and chief designer of West8 urban design and landscape architecture. He teaches at the University of Wageningen and presents lectures worldwide. With his partners, Edzo Bindels, Martin Biewenga and Jamie Maslyn Larson, he leads an international team of 70 people in Rotterdam and New York, working on large urban and landscape projects all over the world. He managed to turn an old Amsterdam harbour into a vibrant urban area. Transforms Governors Island in New York into a successful tourist destination. And came up with a coherent vision for the Toronto Central Waterfront. In each project water is key.

In 2011, after 6 years of working, a team of architects from Madrid: Burgos & Garrido, Porras & La Casta, Rubio & Álvarez-Sala and West8 from Rotterdam finalized the Madrid Rio Project. For decades a highway had been polluting this extremely dense urban area of 10 kilometers along the river of Madrid, obstructing any development. It had to go underground, using 23 kilometers of tunnel, so that the area could be redesigned from scratch. Ancient bridges were completely renovated. And new bridges were added. The mayor of Madrid, Gallardon, wanted fast results, but the building of the tunnels turned out to be an unpredictable process, that demanded the constant flexibility of the designers.

 

 

Dutch Profiles is a series of short documentaries focusing on the conceptual and researchbased background of well-known icons of Dutch design, such as Rem Koolhaas, Droog, MVRDV, Li Edelkoort, Hella Jongerius, HEMA, Marlies Dekkers and Iris van Herpen. The Dutch Profiles were commissioned by DutchDFA and produced by Submarine. 

You can find them all at dutchdesign.submarinechannel.com