Image: Peter Groot (left) and Paul de Bruijn (centre).

Two civilians with great interest in a new way in urban development took the initiative. Supported by the city counsel they where permitted to use 7 empty office and schoolbuilding til 2018. What happens after then, nobody knows.

Peter Groot (H2A Studio) and Paul de Bruijn (Urban Inspiration) have taken up this challenge.

The project is an initiative of Paul de Bruijn and Peter Groot, both of whom have been involved in alternative developments within the city of Arnhem for some time now – in Paul’s case as the author of the Manifest van de Ruimte [Spatial Manifesto] and in Peter’s case as the initiator of the Departement Tijdelijke Ordening [Temporary Planning Department] (DTO), an organisation that promotes the temporary use of vacant properties. They share the view that it is people who give value to an area or building and that this is where all attention should be focused.
Peter is architect and is Paul apart from Coehoorn Centraal, communicational professional with the focus on online communication. His love for the special spacial developments in Berlin made him to regular city guide in Berlin.

Structure of formal organisation
Giving due consideration to the interests at stake in the area, we are developing a good organisation and way of accounting for our actions.
Coehoorn Centraal is a foundation, as such a legal entity is best suited to this phase of the project. For the implementation of the many tasks involved we are working on building a stable organisation. Here we need to integrate tasks such as managing the city park, programming activities for the district and entrepreneurs, managing the various properties, handling bookings for meetings at De Coehoorn (CC3). The executive board is supervised by a supervisory board.
For the project as a whole we consider it extremely important to ensure that the project ties in well with existing and new residents and entrepreneurs. This needs to be taken into account in the way the organisation is structured. It is also important that other parties from Arnhem are linked to Coehoorn Centraal.
 The project is being carried out in close consultation with the Municipality of Arnhem.

For presentations and guided tours, please contact us at info@coehoorncentraal.nl.