Hello Zuidas — January-February 2018

DAVID VAN TRA A • CITY OF AMSTERDAM (ZUIDAS OFFICE) Te x t Romy Lange • Photography Davien Hulsman • 9

‘I could definitely see

a satellite of the Stedelijk

Museum in Zuidas’

David van Traa, in charge of district development for the City of Amsterdam

Zuidas is a dynamic place that’s still very much under

construction and where new things are happening all

the time. How would you characterize the past year?

‘This past year was, in a word, fantastic! This job is great because it

gives both opportunity and responsibility to think about the city and

to contribute to the development of Amsterdam. The City is facing

considerable market pressure. Recruiting is really tough these days.

However, Zuidas has such strong appeal that we’ve been able to

attract capable people for ever y sector in the City’s district office. I’m

in contact with all of those sectors on a daily basis, which makes my

job varied as well as challenging. Responsibility mostly lies with the

teams, but there are certain set times when decisions must be taken

at executive level. Those decisions involve long, animated discussions

in which we analyse ever y single aspect, and that’s really fascinating.’

Everywhere you look in Zuidas there are large

scale construction works to be seen. Is there

still room to grow in this district?

‘In 2016, the city council adopted a vision document stating that now

that Zuidas finds itself in a development phase, we need to focus

on coherence between all of the subdistricts. Crucial factors are

sustainability, mobility and local activity. Zuidas comprises a total of

two million square metres in gross floor surface (gfs), of which one

million has been developed. So, yes, there’s still plenty of room! The

Ravel subdistrict, which comprises the strip along De Boelelaan, is

currently undergoing massive development. This involves relocation

of the AFC football pitches, which in turn allows room for further

developments in the future. The FC Buitenveldert football pitches in

the Kenniskwartier district will be moved to the rear of VU Amster-

dam, paving the way for serious high rise development later on. In

Kop Zuidas, across from the RAI, there’s still some space left as well

and so on. But construction can’t go any faster than this; that would

be too disruptive to the neighbourhood. Our challenge is to strike

the right balance between users and developers. With the start of

Zuidasdok on top of ever ything we’re well aware of a certain tension

this creates. We are therefore closely monitoring its development.’

In November, we got the brilliant news about the EMA.

What will their arrival mean for the district?

‘You’re right, it was brilliant news for us. So many people collaborated

intensively to make this happen, so we’re thrilled with the outcome.

The EMA coming to Zuidas will certainly bolster our image as a top lo-

cation for international businesses and organizations, as well as add

a huge impetus towards our aim to attract more knowledge-intensive

institutions to Zuidas. Beyond that, the EMA’s many international

employees and visitors will no doubt help to enliven this place. And

they too will realize that this new urban district is a great location

to live, work and relax. I’d like to thank Wouter Bos especially, who

invested boundless energy these last months in securing the EMA for

the Netherlands and Zuidas.’

There seems to be a perception, even despite the

EMA announcement, that Zuidas is too small to

cater to big multinationals. Is that view accurate?

‘It’s true that office availability is starting to tail off, which means

we have a ver y low vacancy rate in Zuidas. However, plans for the

coming years make ample provisions for new office construction.

Real estate firms are aware that companies are looking to locate to

David van Traa, who was appointed director of Zuidas just under a year ago, is in charge of district development for the City of

Amsterdam, which owns almost all the land on which Zuidas is built. It’s a job that requires almost daily consideration of the

conditions needed to shape Zuidas as a residential and business district of the future. It also deals with questions like what value

Zuidas contributes to Amsterdam, how to strengthen the quality of district activities and how to bring market creativity to bear in

that process. Van Traa talks to Hello Zuidas about his role, looks back at his first year on the job and shares his vision for the future

of Zuidas: ‘I could definitely see a satellite of the Stedelijk Museum in Zuidas.’

‘Art and culture

are absolutely vital

to a healthy city’