David Dooghe works as a researcher, strategist and designer on urban development.
The resulting projects can be temporary or long-term designs and strategies. These projects combine different scales and are characterized by their strong connection with the spatial, cultural, social and economical context of where they occur.
For David Dooghe the city is organic. Questioning the city and understanding its working principles is the path to a sustainable project.
For more information, click on the Project numbers:
P31_The New City Gates / P3o_Island Nijmegen-Lent / P29_World Port Days / P28_Water Garden / P27_the International Perspectives / P26_Economics of Beauty / P25_the Vibrant City / P24_CityGallery Cool / P23_Defining the Metropolis / P22_House DDR'dam / P21_Soundpiece @ Schouwburgplein / P2o_between Space and Place / P19_the top is within reach / P18_Transformation as Inspiration / P17_the Art of an Urban Culture / P16_Youth and the City / P15_IFF@R'dam / P14_We love to build / P13_the Rotterdam urban theatre / P12_Caribbean Summer @Afrikaanderwijk / P11_Festivalscity_Rotterdam / P1o_TimeLine R'dam / Po9_Moving East / Po8_Keep it, Green it, Live in it! / Po7_Morpho-Logic / Po6_Luik, Liege,Luttich / Po5_House FDU'sel / Po4_Shelter / Po3_New Alliances / Po2_Tria / Po1_Loft for Rent
The last decade Rotterdam has been the breeding ground for many festivals. These festivals are the celebrations of a community. The celebrations of most of these festivals take place in the city centre of Rotterdam. In the time-space capsule that festivals are, the city shows its different identities to others, citizens or foreigners.
The concept of this project perceives the city centre as a theatre. The Coolsingel and the Schiedamse dijk, with their different identities as economical, political, commercial and maritime centre become the central trillzone of Rotterdam with the public space as the main stage and the buildings as the scenery. Between this trillzone and the parking garages, public transport stops is the foyer of the theatre, the chillzone of the festivals. In this zone, shops, restaurant and cafes are supporting the experience of the whole festival.
The public space creates multi-functional (in space and time) urban locations. In daily use as well as when used for a festival, this space invites you to linger.
This urban design project is part of the case studies that substantiate Festivalcity_Rotterdam, a strategy for the symbiotic collaboration of festivals and urban development, creating a strong identity for both.
Related projects: P11_Festivalcity_Rotterdam / P12_Caribbean Summer @ Afrikaanderwijk / P14_We love to build / P15_IFF@R'dam
2oo8, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
David Dooghe was invited at de De Unie Late Night for a debate with Arno Bonte, a member of the political party Groen Links. Groen Links had hold an inquiry among inhabitants of Rotterdam with the proposal to make the Coolsingel a traffic free street and create a park.
David Dooghe agreed that more could be done with the main street of Rotterdam but had questions about the proposal to make the Coolsingel a traffic free street. Wasn’t this just an easy solution for a very local problem? How would this effect the organisation of the whole central city? Does Rotterdam need a new traffic free area, knowing there are traffic free areas around the Lijnbaan and the Binnenrotte. “Do we really need a new Binnenrotte in Rotterdam?”
Creating a park could be nice but this would have no connection to other green structures. David suggested to make a park at the Binnenrotte and connect it with a levelled park above the Hofboogjes. This would be a nice recreational connection between the river and the landscape in the north of Rotterdam.
Arno Bonte and David Dooghe agreed to keep in touch about this subject.

