The world population is growing. This results in growing cities and a shortage of housing. But not all cities are growing. Some of them are shrinking because they are socially or economically not feasible to live in anymore. 

In Limburg (Belgian and Dutch Limburg), there are some cities like this. The city Heerlen was an important city last century. It was the heart of the Dutch mining industry and had big economic value. This came to an end after the mine closures in the 1970s and 80s. Many people lost their jobs and had to move to find new jobs. This trend is still happening. People are moving to bigger cities to find jobs. 

The exercise’s purpose is to look for solutions for shrinking cities. How can we make such a city economically important again? I decided to focus on the university campus of Heerlen. The campus lacks an inviting atmosphere and there is no link between academic and professional life. However, the buildings of the university are next to office buildings. 

For this reason, I designed a “parasite” building, physically connecting the university building and the business center with a new building. This building forms a new connection between the city center and the open nature behind the campus, which is currently not in use. This new building has new classrooms for the students of the university and also room for start-ups. It will also have labs that can be used by both students and businesses. Thus, it is not only a physical connection, but a social connection.