What We Want Has Never Been Done

What We Want Has Never Been Done explores the route to a fully integrated building process where all parties working on projects with major social impact remain alert to each other’s concerns. But this does not happen on its own; in reality, an integrated approach often gets mired in a scenario of wishful thinking amid a recalcitrant planning and construction world. Nevertheless, integrated collaboration is crucial if the Netherlands is to tackle major spatial challenges in the decades to come.

One million extra homes, energy transition, mobility issues, climate adaptation: these are just a few of the urgent tasks that cannot be tackled without a shared vision of the future and a guiding hand from The Hague.

The assertion of this book, an initiative from De Bouwagenda, is that integrated construction is a must and should be done now. It contains examples of construction projects where an integrated approach has succeeded. It offers a vision of the future, nurtured by De Bouwagenda’s studio sessions, and the larger housing projects mapping the future of the Netherlands.

What We Want Has Never Been Done is also a practical handbook from which every alderman, urban planner, project developer, policy official, architect, builder, engineer, financier or environmental group can draw inspiration.

What we want has never been done, and now is the moment to do it.

Printed version can be purchased here.
It can also be downloaded in English.

Publisher: Arcadis/ UNStudio
Authors: Bob Witman, Ben van Berkel, Carolien Gehrels, e.o.
Format: ePub
Pages: 160