A worn-out edge. Het Stefen Hoof in Amsterdam is an old dock that attracts the crowd to its surroundings and where any citizen can still enjoy the landscape, the light and the air. A wild open enclave, where the trace of the past is still patent. A worn-out edge that could go unnoticed.

The main goal of our intervention consists in reshaping the landscape into a fresh and friendly place where a kindergarten and the current public activities could take place at the same time. Our contribution to the dock is based on maintaining its wild character, implementing the relation with the water and opening the space to citizens of all ages.

Waterscapes is a cross-generational learning space where the values we want to preserve in the dock could shine and play a part in the education of these kids. Our proposal is based on Decroly’s pedagogical theory and its three principles for children natural learning:

-Nature: Importance of collective-to-individual gradient treatment related to indoor and outdoor spaces (Openschool references).
-Society: Historical memory relation of the surrounding area resulting in the form of a design of programmatical strips.
-Exercise: “Woonerf” and “Polder” concepts, combined to introduce water as an element for creating public space.

As an ensemble, this intervention aims to consolidate the social tissue of the place and recover the forgotten traditional synergy between the water and Amsterdam.