Ypenburg station location

With expansion of the area and regional urbanisation, 'The Hague' is gradually becoming ‘Haaglanden’. This development is not simply a territorial or programmatic one but actually also entails a new identity. The future ‘face’ of Haaglanden will be chiefly determined by the developments around the Prins Clausplein and the A12 zone. The design of the Ypenburg station area will be the prelude to this, and this location is also a crucial link in coupling Ypenburg and Leidschenveen to form a single city district.
Assigned by NS Vastgoed, TCN Property Projects and the Hague Development company, Van Mourik Vermeulen architects completed the Study of Ypenburg Station location in October 2003. This design study looked into both the urban development and programme options for the station and congress triangle on the southern side and the Zegwaard and remaining Wegener location on the northern side of the A12 bundle. The study resulted in three design variants for each side and eventually in an urban development concept approved by the clients and ROMZ (urban development dept.).
Following on from this, we drew up a preliminary urban development design in cooperation with Arcadis and ROMZ, for what is nowadays known as the ‘Prins Clausplein Business Centre’ (the station and congress triangle).
This design organised an integration of scale levels. The area must play a role and therefore take a position in the future large-scale developments around the Prins Clausplein and the A12 zone. At the same time, a spatial and functional relationship must be formed and supported between Ypenburg and Leidschenveen on either side of this corridor. Finally, the various locations must become mutually cohesive, along with the neighbouring areas and urban elements.
The programme of offices with shops, pubs and restaurants, and amenities on the ground floor has been accommodated in the periphery of the two triangular locations, in a number of development strips which assume the direction of the main structure of this area, and in two towers which denote the access to The Hague, the new station and the new tunnel under the A12. The traffic flow around the station has been partially catered for in an open style building block. The large parking options at ground level and in garages is mainly situated in the so-called reservation zone along the railway. All in all the plan is a reaction to both the needs of those people living in this city district and the surrounding areas and to those of passing travellers.