Roosje Rodenburg

Voor GERRiT

For GERRiT

Beyond ‘building is business’, repurposing the Bowling – Amsterdam Noord 


When Gerrit unsuspectingly gets up one May morning in 2015 to start his day at the Bowling on the Buikslotermeerplein in Amsterdam Noord, he finds an unpleasant surprise on the doormat: he must vacate the Bowling within 24 hours, as the building is to be demolished immediately. Just a month before this sudden decision, Gerrit had conversations with the municipality indicating that he could use the Bowling for another five years to bowl with mentally disabled people and host bingo nights with the neighborhood. It is a painful and distressing decision, affecting not only his heart but also his wallet. Gerrit and his wife had just taken out a loan of 160,000 euros for renovations to the Bowling, but without the Bowling, there is no business model to recoup the investment, and they end up in debt relief. 

As a young designer I walk around the Buikslotermeerplein, which will be the starting point for an attempt to work differently than ‘building is business’. Not without reason I choose this location, where the pressure of construction takes its toll, and the identity of the area and its current users are slowly being pushed out by a new generation of 'Noorderlingen' (residents of Amsterdam North). Demolition and new construction take precedence over reuse. A certain level of care is missing that ensures the preservation of irreplaceable values – both the physical and social values. 

Why are so many buildings thoughtlessly being demolished, and why does the construction of new neighborhoods come at the expense of the current inhabitants? Is there a way for the old and new to coexist, or will there always be friction? And where is that friction actually desirable? 

It quickly becomes clear to me: the Bowling needs to be stripped down so that the monumental values of the building become visible and should be repurposed as a clubhouse for the neighborhood and a place for Gerrit where he can organize activities for handicap people and the neighborhood.  


Graduation date: 9 July 2024  
Graduation committee: Ira Koers (mentor), Arjen Oosterman, Peter Defesche  
Additional members for the exam: Bart Bulter, Arna Mačkić