The ‘Ripperda’ terrain in Haarlem was previously in use as a military campus. With this function removed, new functions could be explored and the approximately seven hectares within an urban tissue redeveloped.

The redevelopment called for a redefinition of the meaning of the campus in order to create a new identity for the site. Formerly a closed area, revealing little of the life behind the gates, the possibility now arose to explore a more romantic view towards the existing buildings and the possibilities they can offer to the city. One of the main objectives of the design is to maintain those buildings perceived as valuable. The project proposes to place these existing buildings in a landscaped environment. Following and reacting to the quality of the soil, a green environment has been created. New garden dwellings have been carefully positioned on the site, thus creating a background for the existing monumental buildings. The intervention has resulted in a complex entity, where the existing barracks can be seen as landscape elements in a new setting, but also as special monuments in a green landscape.