Utrecht HUB-IN_Werkspoorkathedraal
In Utrecht, where trains used to be built, hundreds of creative people now work
Utrecht is a historic Dutch city that is growing exceptionally fast. It hosts the biggest train station in the Netherlands and it is the 2nd bicycle city in the world (after Copenhagen) with 100 000 bikes roaming around the city every day. For the past years, Utrecht was in the top 3 of the most competitive regions in Europe. The main economic sectors are services and knowledge as Utrecht hosts the biggest and highest-ranking university of the Netherlands with a flourishing applied sciences sector. Utrecht is also home to various special cultural venues and organizations, and striking festivals with a national and international appeal.
Utrecht’s HUB-IN: from industry to culture and creativity
The HUB-IN is located in the historic industrial area known as Werkspoorkwartier, which is a triangular-shaped zone of 45 hectares located north-western part of the city. It is an area that hosted old factory buildings for steel production.
The Werkspoorkwartier has gradually changed into a 21st-century creative and circular maker district thanks to initiatives by entrepreneurs, developers and the municipality. Where bridges, trains and buses used to be built, hundreds of creative people now work. The municipality of Utrecht has stimulated the sustainable redevelopment of the heritage in the area favouring the creation of several creative hotspots, ranging from low-budget workshops to high-end workspaces for game developers and architects.
Indeed, the Werkspoorkwartier has become a cultural hotspot, with local and national impact. This area is open and publicly accessible, representing the first step in the redevelopment of this district, cementing its reputation as being attractive and drawing all kinds of new initiatives. As a result, several other creative hotspots started to develop in the area. The Werkspoorkathedraal has become an event space and studio for creative entrepreneurs involving a lot of cooperation, event organisation and a buzzing Werkspoor pub. Furthermore, the arrival of the cultural hubs of the Havenloods, the Nijverheid and the Hof van Cartesius contribute to a thriving creative ecosystem for audiences and creative workers and artists in the Werkspoorkwartier.
The huge challenge that Utrecht is facing in this area is to turn this old industrial area into a nice, attractive place for cultural entrepreneurs, creative entrepreneurs, and the citizens. The aim is that the Utrecht HUB-IN becomes self-sustainable, able to acquire its own financing.
Citizens’ and stakeholders’ ideas will shape the new Werkspoorkwartier
Attaining this goal calls for the engagement of everyone involved. Therefore, a co-creation and co-design process was developed between May 2020 and July 2022. A series of participatory workshops and interviews were conducted with local stakeholders and citizens.
A participation trajectory was performed in order to update the Development Vision Werkspoorkwartier document via active consultation with and drawing from about fifty interviews with entrepreneurs, initiators, owners, board members of the local society for business owners in the area (BKC), residents, residents’ organisations and other stakeholders. Therefore, a workshop was organised with a pre-selected group of stakeholders; as well as an online public participation evening where everyone had the opportunity to pre-read the concept of the document in advance and discuss it collectively.
The HUB-IN project incorporated stakeholders’ ideas and their wishes for the area into this general vision.
Eradiate
The Utrecht HUB-IN wants to make the Werkspoorkwartier an exciting urban destination with a mix of authentic public spaces and alternative places to meet, visit and enjoy. The goal will be achieved by turning the business association into a HUB for the area, initiating an art programme, boosting innovation and creativity via talent development programmes and gaining knowledge on the fruitful governance structures for cultural hubs in the area.
Click here to find out more on the roadmap that will make the Werkspoorkwartier an innovative, accessible, inspiring hub where citizens can enjoy, while entrepreneurship and creativity can bloom.
