True Colours

True Colours transforms the Maashaven in Rotterdam South from dull and grey to colourful, vibrant, and mixed-use. Colouring the buildings creates an attractive, iconic, and positive look which reflects the neighbourhood’s colourful diversity. Directly tackling local issues such as unemployment, low level of education, and low accessibility to social structure, the strategy for growth revolves around one question: what’s in it for them? The framework created will facilitate bottom-up participation. The first step in the framework is defining the function of the new development. The colour of the building is defined by its function. The second step is connecting, during this step the new development is integrated within the community. By embedding each new development within the social structures of the Maashaven the community grows. The third step is adapting the physical structure of the buildings. By picking a type of spatial organisation each building can adapt to its new function. The final step is cultivating the environment around the buildings. Through a selection process by the community the type of public space is defined. Through this process a colourful community is created by the inhabitants of Rotterdam-South. The toolbox gives inhabitants the possibility to access and create spaces that serve them. Within six years, Rotterdam-South and its people will transform the Maashaven to show its true colours.

In collaboration with: Olivia Meng