NS-Workshop Tilburg

Fifteen years after the acquisition of the former NS site, Tilburg’s Spoorzone has grown into one of the most multifaceted inner-city developments in the Netherlands. The redevelopment of the new urban district around the transport hub goes hand in hand with the transformation of the industrial heritage of the former NS workshop: a high-density new-build programme interwoven with a broad, city-centre mix of uses.

Not so long ago, a large part of this area was fenced off, making it a hidden corner of the city. Since its opening in 2011, the Spoorzone has been discovered, developed and embraced by the people of Tilburg. With the arrival of the Stadscampus, the transformation of the LocHal into a library, the regeneration of the station area and the development of the Clarissenhof, the first outlines of the area’s development have become visible. The former workshop now accommodates a mix of housing, events, creativity and entrepreneurship: an urban environment that clearly stands out from the rest of the city.

The first phase of development was guided by the 2012 masterplan, with its programme and detailed planning serving as the starting point. Gradually, however, this project-based approach proved insufficient in ensuring coherence. A reassessment followed with the Spoorzone Strategy Document (2019), drawn up in collaboration with, amongst others, Bogdan & Van Broeck. This document does not set out a fixed end state, but rather an adaptive framework in which identity and cohesion are the guiding principles. Within this framework, the industrial heritage is not regarded as a remnant, but as a foundation for further development: the Spoorzone as a highly urban central environment in which living, working, culture and education converge within a robust yet flexible structure.

This strategy will take shape in the coming years through a series of sub-projects. Along Burgemeester Brokxlaan, the programme is being densified with new residential and commercial functions, such as Tresia, which is being developed in phases into a new residential environment adjoining the existing Theresia neighbourhood. Large-scale features such as the Clarissen Tower add urban intensity, whilst smaller-scale interventions such as the Traverse Building and the redevelopment of existing buildings leave room for experimentation. The redevelopment of the Koepelhal and the Wagenmakerij forms the urban planning finale: the monumental complex is being transformed into an open, accessible city hall where culture, events, hospitality and residential living come together.

The design of the public space is at least as crucial to the quality of the Spoorzone. Since 2021, Karres en Brands, following in the footsteps of Atelier Quadrat, has been working on the design of this space and on the spatial frameworks for the area’s further development. The cultural-historical values of the NS workshop form the basis of the layout design: the original transverse system, in which the production processes were organised linearly and functionally, guides the new layout and is made visible alongside the physically present heritage.

This translates into the principle of rails and sleepers. The rails form the east-west urban connections, with Locomotiefboulevard serving as a continuous line linking the sub-areas. The sleepers provide the north-south connections and complete the pedestrian and cycle network towards the Dwaalmilieu, the core shopping area and the Museum Quarter. The Willem II Passage and the Stationspassage are crucial links in this network: they break through the historical barrier created by the railway and connect the north side of the station with the core shopping area on the south side.

Within this framework of rails and sleepers, courtyards and gardens, pedestrians take precedence. Rail tracks, overhead lines and other robust design elements are reflected in the public space: the paving material, edging, dimensions and routing of the path network, together with distinctive street furniture, create an identity that ties in with the railway heritage. The functional zoning of the original working environments – support facilities, locomotives, support facilities, carriages – provides a rich source of inspiration for the new design.

What sets the Spoorzone apart is not only the physical result, but the way in which it is brought about. Over the course of fifteen years, the approach has been adjusted on several occasions: from a programmatic masterplan to an adaptive strategy, from a closed site to an open neighbourhood. This makes the Spoorzone a model project for contemporary area development: not as a clearly defined end result, but as an open process in which design, time and use continue to influence one another.