A spectacular dance and light show on Friday evening the 11th of September marked the opening of the parking garage and Stadswalzone by City Counselor Jan Hoskam. The parking garage forms a spectacular part of the Stadswalzone and is situated below the repositioned and reintroduced inner city canal.
‘A beautiful moment’, Councillor Jan Hoskam said. ‘It's a fabulous parking garage, which is part of the beautiful historical environment of the Fortifications. A prominent new entrance for ’s Hertogenbosch.’
It’s a special and integral project in which the redevelopment of the Stadwalzone, the Zuiderpark, and Casino garden (MTD landscape architects), the restoration of the city wall (Van Roosmalen Van Gessel architecten) and the realization of the parking garage, the park bridge and the pedestrian bridge (design Leon Thier i.c.w. Arcadis) took shape. Heijmans completed the realization of this gigantic task within their conceived timeframe and within budget.
The parking garage offers space for 1040 new parking places, at a stone's throw from the historical inner city. The parking garage already received a price upon opening: as the first parking garage in Holland it was awarded the Espa Gold Award, a distinction of the European Parking Association in regards to safety, quality and customer satisfaction. This Espa Gold Award is a is a recognition for the work of all involved parties, who have worked for years on renovating a very special city area and realizing an excellently accessible, functional and pleasant parking garage and an enjoyable public space of which the city´s residents and visitors directly after the opening already turned out to be very proud of. As an opening special, visitors to the St. Jan parking garage can park free of charge in the Month of September. People who would like to make use of this offer can register via the site of the parking garage.
The main aim of the plans for the Stadswalzone is to achieve an attractive connecting route from the new parking garage to the inner city of Den Bosch and vice versa. In addition, the plan is geared towards a perception of the encounter between the historical inner city and the open landscape of the Zuiderpark and the Bossche Broek. The new parking garage is situated at the foot of the city wall. On the roof of the parking garage the former inner city canal has been brought back. When exiting from the depths of the parking garage at the main stairwell, there is a dramatic view across the water onto the city wall and the Judas Tower. This is followed by an attractive route via a pedestrian bridge over the inner city canal, through the city wall in the direction of the inner city.
The second strategic aim of the plans was the reintroduction of the leafy city excursion along the city walls under the canopy of the monumental trees present. As part of the city excursion, at the Casino garden and Judas Tower, it is possible to experience the Medieval ground level and the various time periods in the plan. With this special project the city of Den Bosch has gained an exceptional new entrance.
Arch Daily
