The Public Parliament - a spatial manifesto for a Binnenhof Redesign

The Public Parliament - a spatial manifesto for a Binnenhof Redesign

Van Hemert, J.M.

Van den Burg, L.P.J. (mentor)
Relats Torante, M. (mentor)
Teerds, P.J. (mentor)

Architecture and The Built Environment

Urbanism

2016-04-12

Designers have the ability to organise and shape spaces, to create the decor of life. Besides the contribution to society by giving form to public buildings and spaces, designers also have the responsibility to design for users they don’t directly know. When the design relates to the government, the guarantee of democratic values are at stake. Design assignments related to public institutions have to deal with this responsibility of ensuring proper access to the government and expressing a suitable message in their designs. This graduation thesis focuses on the role of spatial urban design in relation to the interaction between citizens and politics. By researching the philosophical theorems of Thomas Hobbes and Jürgen Habermas, the student has taken position as foundation for a redesign of the Dutch seat of parliament: the Binnenhof, located at The Hague. The philosophical framework provided ground for a research of the concept of ‘the Public Sphere’ and its relation with the design of public spaces, regarded from the views of the philosophical, social and urban sciences. The stated position has been expressed in a design, making the project a ‘spatial manifesto’. With this design, a statement for a more public parliament complex is made visible. It shows a way in which the spatial design of the Binnenhof can contribute to increased awareness, understanding and contact between Dutch citizens and politics.

Public Space
Political Philosophy
Urban Design
Public Sphere
Jurgen Habermas
Binnenhof
Tweede Kamer
Den Haag

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:e4f7277b-8df2-4c45-890a-8f2d843b4baf

52.079423, 4.312615

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2016 Van Hemert, J.M.