Museumplein

Amsterdam

Place Game | Client: Gemeente Amsterdam

How do we make Museumplein an attractive and inviting place for “Amsterdammers”? On the 19th and 20th of June 2014 we organised a two-day Placegame with Fred Kent and Kathy Madden from PPS.org. Together with 60 people per day we mobilised ideas, dreams, energy and concrete proposals to kick-off a project at Museumplein.

Why placemaking at the Museumplein?
The cultural institutions around Museumplein are of national and international appeal. Every year there are four million people visiting Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Malevich, Kienholz and the Concertgebouw. The Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk Museum have been restored in previous years and the Van Gogh Museum has just been renovated. Recently they have all turned their “face” towards the Museumplein. Therefore, the Museumplein has received a totally new character, from the backyard to the central space.

Museumplein itself has a long tradition with World Exhibitions, gymnastrada’s, an Olympic size ice-skating ring, demonstrations and celebrations. Various events still bring a lot of public to the square, but usually for only one time. It’s the daily use that has much more potential. Museumplein lies in the heart of the city, but Amsterdammers rarely see it as an attractive or fun place to meet. An important question is: how do we make Museumplein a place more attractive for Amsterdammers to meet? We are looking for an attractive mix and / or more layers of activities for all visitors.

Placegame: 19 and 20 June 2014
At the Placegame users and initiators have the chance to meet each other and see the square through different eyes, to analyse the components of the square and to develop in teams any dreams and ideas. Placemaking Museumplein, including the Placegame takes a whole day, it begins with an introduction to Placemaking by Fred Kent & Kathy Madden from Project for Public Spaces (PPS) followed by rounds of seeing / observation, analysis, interviewing, listening, watching and eventually to develop ideas and share them with each other.

Given the size of the Museumplein we have decided to split it into two parts; the northern and the southern part of the square. Therefore, we have organised a two-day game, on the 19th and 20th of June for each respective part of the square. Each day there was a group of around 60 participants. 

The Placegame Museumplein has been organised by Stipo, Placemaking Plus, Posterscope and Pakhuis de Zwijger in cooperation withGemeente Amsterdam and Stadsdeel Zuid.

You can find the full report of the Place Game here.