Centre 't Fort, Apeldoorn

Osseveld is a new residential district designed on the east side of Apeldoorn after a plan by Kuiper Compagnons. Its centre (5000 m2 of shops, 1000 m2 of services, 275 housing units, a multi-storey car park) is located where the Apeldoorn ring road slices through the district. This centre is bordered on the south side by the Apeldoorn-Zutphen railway line.
Atelier Pro designed the shopping centre as a 'Groszvorm' with a monolithic impact when seen from beyond the town. This monolith is cut open on the side to the ring road, with an urban square acting as a link between the shopping area and the town. A number of routes stab through the monolith, nailing the centre in its setting. They also frame three compact blocks whose internal courts are fleshed out with gardens, storage space, terraces and public greenspace. The centre scheme seems to show Atelier Pro heading off in a new direction of high-powered types which, rather than adapting to the existing context, become context themselves.