De Citadel
The beginning idea of the plan of OMA for the Almere centre, 1994, was based on the superposition of uses, with an emphasis on pedestrians and the buildings. This block, which is home to the main commercial centre is paradigmatic regarding its variety of uses, from the car park and the underground infrastructures up to the inhabited green covering. Portzamparc's development of the Master Plan guidelines has a few changes and the deck is, after all, not a public space, but a bonus for the residents of the terraced houses and the tower.
The plan's proposal to recreate the density of a medieval city with regard to population and combination of uses has not quite been materialised. In the first images of the project there were cows grazing on the deck and the slab of dwelling floated over the commercial streets. It is, however, an example of how the uses of urban centres can be combined in many different ways.
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