place: Utrecht
year: 2014
size: 5.200 m2
status: contest – second prize
client: Oud-Utrecht Association – Municipality of Utrecht
team: Remko Remijnse, Rocco Reukema, Marco Olgiati, Fernando Herrera, Georgios Siokas

Tivoli, thanks to its location, relatively close to the center and other attractions, has the potential to play an interesting role in building a low budget place for various city visitors. In addition to a place for overnight stays, Tivoli will remain a place for the city itself by hosting public and small-scale cultural programs such as a pop-up gallery, exhibition rooms and workshop spaces. As a result, not only will meetings between hotel guests take place, but also between hotel guests and visitors for these cultural programs. This refers to the former monastery that simply offered shelter to pilgrims from different regions.

This proposal shows a flexible growth model in which the final image is not fixed. It is a model in which the budget hotel can start in a part of the complex while the other part can continue to accommodate new functions for several years. Through the years, with simple steps, Tivoli can evolve without the final result being written in stone. The new Tivoli provides space for a spontaneous and organic growth process where publicity, residence, meeting, creation, and culture are central. The complex will maintain and even strengthen its function as a meeting place in the city. The monumental values of the buildings will be restored and displayed and the new interventions will be minimal and flexible.