Strijp-S:

Turning the relocation of a leading company

into an urban rejuvenation success story
© Foto Paul Raats creative views, fotografie & video

• Access to culture • Attractiveness of the territory

• Economic growth • Education
• Internationalisation • Urban regeneration

Context
Eindhoven is the fifth largest city in the Netherlands, located in the
southern part of the country, at the heart of the Brainport region –
which is among the most innovative regions worldwide. The city has
been the hometown of Philips the electronics’ company since 1892. The
founding of the company was actually the main factor that developed
the city since it attracted many investors to the area, especially hi-tech
companies, making Eindhoven a major technological and industrial
hub. In 2000 Philips closed down and the city went through a period of
depression. Thousands of jobs were lost and the economic model of
the entire city had to go through a radical shift. The area of Strijp where
the company was located, also known as the “Forbidden City” (because
of the fences surrounding it), was then a no-go area of 270,000 square
meters.
A strategic plan was designed to revitalise the area in a modern and
functional way. Masterplan Strijp-S 2002 is the strategy to redevelop
Strijp-S as a creative and cultural area of Eindhoven and to promote
its (inter)national reputation, and rediscovery as industrial heritage
(Intensivering kunst en cultuur Strijp-S 23 October 2007). The
Masterplan was later updated (Vision Art & Technology 2014) to cover
the entire spectrum of art and technology ranging from research and
development, to cultural production and display.
The local strategy aims at strengthening the creative dynamic of the area, and collaborations along three lines:
• Experiment, focusing on the living laboratory where creative persons, business and education work
together intensively on innovative products and projects, in which new materials are tested.
• Experience, or the creation of special stimulating experiences for the public, which will help them learn
and understand the creative and cultural potential of art and technology and appreciate it at the Dutch
Design Week, the art and tech STRP festival abd Glow NXT (LightArt).
• Excellence, seeking to bind talent to the city and strengthen its international appeal. Excellence at Strijp
is stimulated through open competitions with a special emphasis on international emerging talents.
The city of Eindhoven also submitted its candidacy for European Capital of Culture 2018. Although it was
unsuccessful, the bid sought to reinforce the role of art and culture in the city as well as to further connect art
and culture with creativity, innovation, technology and science, in line with the strategy of the city and with the
initiative at hand.
Strijp-S
With Strijp-S, Eindhoven transformed an industrial
area into a creative and cultural quarter. It is in many
ways an exemplary (re)development scheme where
strategic infrastructures have been developed:
• In 2008 “Cultuurfonds Strijp-S” was launched,
as a private/public fund to stimulate creative
initiatives, events and programmes in the
Strijp-S area so as to contribute to the national
and international reputation of Strijp-S. It
supports cultural and creative projects with
grants ranging from €5,000 to €25,000.
• Since 2010, Klokgebouw, the main building of
Strijp-S, has hosted 100 creative companies.
• Apparatenfabriek, the old Philips Device Factory,
offers 20,000 square feet of commercial and
working space for CCIs. Additionally, other
Philips buildings have been transformed into
lofts, leisure facilities (skate park, festival event
spaces), restaurants and retail shops (Anton &
Gerard buildings, Ketelhuis, Machinekamer).
• In 2013 the famous Natlab building (former
Philips Research Laboratories building) re-
opened as a cultural centre for film, theatre and
two media labs.
© vermeer fotografie
The now well-known Dutch Design Week and STRP
Biennale (art, technology and pop culture festival)
also take place in the area.
This mix makes Strijp-S the high-tech creative and
cultural centre of Eindhoven, attracting new activities
and especially creative industries.
Strijp-S is now a stronghold of creative talents that
connects art, technology and knowledge in a tangible
and feasible way.
Strijp-S has become the largest urban redevelopment
area in the Netherlands and has gained international
recognition as part of the Brainport region,
internationally recognised as a leading “smart region”.
Challenges
The main challenge for Eindhoven was to position
itself as a location with potential in the creative and
innovation sector, and facilitate the well-being of its
residents and visitors.
Additionally, the huge abandoned area of the Philips
factory, a major source of income for the local
economy, was left unexploited and needed a large-
scale planning strategy in order to regenerate the
“Forbidden City”. When Philips was in a deep crisis in
the early 1990s, the entire city was in crisis. Drastic
lay-offs, unemployment and depression were the key
issues to be addressed back in 2000.
Budget and financing
The grand total of all investments in relation to culture
on Strijp-S is €36.5 million. Most of the investment for
Strijp-S came from private investors; 1% came from
EU funding (BLISS project, INTERREG IVB North-
West Europe).
The following budget figures present some of the key
investments in arts and culture directly related to the
Strijp-S project: © Mike Roelofs

Project Budget Origin of Funds

“Cultuurfonds Strijp-S” €3 million Volker Wessels, Trudo,
Woonbedrijf, Spoorzone BV,
City of Eindhoven
Natlab building €14 million City of Eindhoven
Investment for main cultural €3.5 million City of Eindhoven
festivals: Dutch Design Week,
STRP and Glow-next
Media museum (VOLT) and €500,000 City of Eindhoven
VPRO Medialab

© vermeer fotografie
Impact
Eindhoven, which was once considered more of an
industrial place than a real city (a collection of very
small villages) became visible as an international
smart hub for creative activities. The former industrial
area has transformed into a creative centre increasing
the visibility of the city as well as attracting creative
persons to invest their talent and work in Eindhoven.
Today, Klokgebouw hosts over 100 entrepreneurs
from creative industries and the Apparatenfabriek
business complex offers over 100 workspaces of in
different sizes and rental rates. The nine-day Dutch
Design Week 2014, hosted in the premises of Strijp-S,
is estimated to have attracted around 250,000 visitors,
while STRP Biennale gathered 29,000 visitors in its
2015 edition.
Developing Strijp-S had a huge, broader effect
on the city. It sparked new energy and hope. With
Strijp-S a physical and mental space was created
where new concepts and models were revealed;
new concepts for new business models, housing,
creative industries, sports, culture, and media in a
public space. Eindhoven was announced Intelligent
Community of the Year 2011 and the most inventive
city in the world in 2013.
Transferability
The 2008 financial crisis demanded a drastic
adjustment of the Masterplan. The realisation of
new projects had to be postponed. Reconsideration
of time schedules and feasibility of projects led to
a more organic way of development by picking up
successful initiatives which emerged despite public
cuts.
Strijp-S is a project that cannot be replicated as such.
What should be considered in similar situations would
be the strategy (Masterplan) and the involvement of
actors from different fields, including young local
creative talents.
Sustainability
The city of Eindhoven took the lead in the
redevelopment of Strijp-S, but the other side of
the street (Strijp-R) is an area currently under
development by another stakeholder, the Dutch
developer Amvest, in collaboration with the famous
Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek.
The Strijp-S area is still an evolving project; plans
and investments for the future progress of the area
are already on track. As new media is a priority for
Strijp’s development, VOLT, an innovation project
initiated by the Dutch Institute for Sound and Vision,
the Municipality of Eindhoven and Trudo, is being
examined for 2018, as is VPRO medialab. Also,
additional residential areas, student housing and
commercial facilities are foreseen in the coming
years via projects such as “Condo”, “City” the “Tower”
and more.
Recently, the municipality bought another huge
connecting area and building, the boiler house at
Strijp-T (next to Strijp-S area), to develop more
spaces for creative industries (as well as a large-
scale central biomass).
Links :
http://www.strijp-s.com/Introduction
http://www.strijp-s.nl/nl/home
Tips
Cooperation with local creative sector and
engineers (university, CCIs, Natlab)
A post-industrial area became a source
for inspiration for a creative environment;
seeing a problem as an opportunity.
Creativity and flexibility in decision-making
processes and in problem-solving situations.
Management level and partners
The city of Eindhoven acquired Strijp-S from the
former owner, Philips. The city created an alliance
with Volker Wessels, one of the biggest construction
and property companies in the Netherlands. Together
they founded Park Strijp Beheer in a public/private
partnership.
Trudo and Woonbedrijf (two housing companies)
and Spoorzone BV later became partners in the
development of Strijp-S. The “Board of Inspiration”,
the board for all stakeholders of Strijp-S, is the
main platform where strategies are discussed
and major decisions made. The city of Eindhoven
created a project team, consisting of a general
manager, financial, real estate and legal experts,
a project manager for cultural development and a
communication manager.
Contact :
Alwin Beernink, Director Park Strijp Beheer BV
abeernink@park-strijp.nl
www.cultureforcitiesandregions.eu