Happy Healthy
Living Street
Zoetermeer, NL
Location: Zoetermeer, NL
Year: 2017-ongoing
Gross Floor Area: 47.5 ha
Gross Area FSI: 1.4 ha
Net Plot FSI: 3.1 (average)
Program: Work, Public, Housing, Parking
Client: City of Zoetermeer
Great changes are coming to Zoetermeer. Once a proud symbol of the planned post-war satellite city, Zoetermeer is now recognising its potential to mature into a vibrant urban destination. The shift from “sleep city” to energetic centre begins at the main entrance area: Afrikaweg. Today this corridor reads largely as an extended ramp to the A12, prioritising throughput over urban life. Our ambition is to transform it into a lively, sustainable and healthy urban quarter—one that reconnects neighbourhoods, adds housing and employment, and upgrades public space into a welcoming front door for the city. This is not only an urban design task, but a cultural one: turning infrastructure into place, and commuting territory into a community landscape that supports everyday life. The Happy Healthy Living Street concept provides a roadmap for building a thriving, future-proof community with more sustainable forms of living.
Its innovation lies in the development strategy: the masterplan enables a linear development cycle to run in parallel with the varying speeds of individual projects and landowners, allowing implementation to stay agile without losing coherence. Six spatial principles act as clear building instructions for current stakeholders and future developers. The first principle is fundamental: Afrikaweg becomes a true high-street profile that structures the entire area and links the station district to the commercial heart. It is designed as a multimodal corridor—cars, public transport, cyclists and pedestrians—supported by generous sidewalks, safe crossings and a legible streetscape. Buildings address this street formally, while the ground floor becomes a flexible yet lively plinth for a diverse mix of functions, ensuring an active public realm throughout the day.
