Zuidas: a business district in the process of being connected

A balance between past and present, centre and periphery. On the one hand, Amsterdam's old courthouse is preparing to house a luxury Rosewood hotel. On the other, the new courthouse has been established in the heart of the business district of Zuidas, in a building bathed in light designed by KAAN Architecten. This business district, developed near the World Trade Centre, but also the RAI congress centre and the Free University of Amsterdam, continues to grow. expansion that began at the start of the 21st^e century. The ABN Amro bank gave it a decisive boost when it decided to build its new headquarters there in 1999, and others have followed, giving Zuidas an air of La Défense or Canary Wharf, so far away yet so close to the majestic canals of the historic centre.

Among the 2,000 companies present were global stars such as Google, as well as the European Medicines Agency following the Brexit, and heavyweights of the Dutch economy such as Akzo Nobel, Rabobank and ING, housed in a futuristic building in the shape of a shoe. That was until it moved to the Bijlmermeer district in 2012. After all, life in a business district is not all work and no play. not a long quiet riverespecially in these days of teleworking and flex office.

ABN Amro is the first company to move a large part of its workforce to the Zuidoost district, while its former headquarters and conference centre, The Circl, is being dismantled by new owner Icon Real Estate, which is transforming it into a "new home". new multifunctional complex to sustainable standards. Similarly, the country's largest law firm, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, has moved out of the neo-futuristic The Rock tower, which is in the process of being renovated to make it eco-responsible.

Like any business district built from scratch, Zuidas seeks to creating life between its office towersThe city's main objective is to attract new residents through new residential complexes, and to provide green spaces and soft mobility in keeping with the times. But businesses are not turning their backs on it for all that. On the contrary, another flagship of the Dutch economy, Philips, will be unpacking its boxes here this year, in a new headquarters resulting from the conversion of a 1970s office building, PI59.

Other developments are also underway, such as Pulse. This latest-generation complex, obviously eco-responsibleThe building, which is self-sufficient in energy and powered by solar power, is divided into two towers, one for offices and the other for residential use, joined by a lively pedestal with a 9-screen cinema, restaurants and tree-lined terraces. At the same time, the RAI conference centre, built in the 1960s, is also part of the same movement, with a transformation plan presented last year, integrating housing, services and green spaces, while the modernisation of several World Trade Centre towers is also on the agenda.

Amsterdam Transfer

Zuidas, which has a master plan extending to 2035-2040, is still under construction. This major development should make the southern part of the Dutch capital a must for business travellers. Already easily accessible from Schiphol airport, the business district will benefit from the Amsterdam Zuid station goes from strength to strength through one of the most ambitious urban redevelopment projects underway in the Netherlands, known as Zuidasdok.

Until now, the district has been bisected by a motorway, but the A10 will be diverted underground, freeing up 120,000 m² of surface area - the equivalent of 24 football pitches. This will turn Amsterdam Zuid into a multimodal hub The station will be a pleasant place to live around a large urban square surrounded by green spaces and cycle paths. But above all, by removing the motorway barrier, the station will become the real link in the district, bringing together the skyscrapers on both sides, all the way to the RAI.

As well as burying the A10, the project includes extensive infrastructure works, with the renovation of the existing Minervapassage and the creation of a second strong link, the Brittenpassage, all covered by a roof to accommodate two new routes. While traffic growth in Amsterdam Zuid is already strong with the convergence of the North/South metro line, the Amstel tram line and the trains linking the cities of the Randstad economic region, it could be even stronger in the future.

While major renovation work has begun at Amsterdam Central Station to prepare it to handle twice as many trains, the Intercity Direct between Breda, Rotterdam and Schiphol airport is being upgraded. deported to Amsterdam Zuid before continuing on to Almere or Amersfoort. But since mid-December, Amsterdam Zuid has also been elevated to the status of an international station, with a link to Brussels-Midi, via Antwerp, Rotterdam and Schiphol. Offered almost every hour by Intercity Direct, this service launched by SNCB and Dutch railways NS rivals Eurostar with a journey time of just over two hours.

The addition of a new platform and two extra tracks opens up new opportunities that the Dutch rail infrastructure manager ProRail would like to exploit in order to transfer international traffic from Amsterdam Centraal to Amsterdam Zuid. Under the proposed plans, which are still subject to validation by 2027, the current southern rail hub - which will become central in the future - would be modified to accommodate arrivals and departures of high-speed trains bound for Paris, Brussels and London, which would require the installation of a passenger and baggage screening area. High-speed trains at the foot of office towers.