Suburban homes and ugly office buildings

Zoetermeer 2017/2018

This city started out as a Sleepercity to The Hague. Housing the workers that would no longer fit in the neighbourhoods. Even though Zoetermeer has a history that dates back to the 1600s the growth of the city started around 1965 and in the coming years became the fastest growing city in the country. One of the consequences of this fast growth and the need for housing is that the city grew into a sort of 'playground' for architects and urban planners. It seems Zoetermeer was used to experiment with mass housing and different types of suburban builds. This resulted in the city not really having a solid identity. In recent years it has put itself on te map as a city of sports. Yet it is still a place for families and mainly considered suburbia town. This series is an ongoing exploration of this city’s urban planning and suburban design as well as an unspoken loveletter to the place I was born and raised in.