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In coöperation with Harry Kerssen/ Kerssen-Graafland Architects

Capital can no longer just be expressed in the amount of money we have, but also in nature, culture, and knowledge. Evaporated capital can be recreated while, once extinct, crown jewels of natural creation disappear forever.
In this sense, 'Green Capital' is a critical city design vision on the recent developments in the financial district of Amsterdam, the Zuidas, and a plea for a healthy and green financial climate in our capital.
In this hypothetical plan, the endangered collection of the VU Hortus becomes the heart of our capital’s financial district. The VU Hortus, the botanical garden of the VU University dating back from 1967, and its rich collection over 10,000 different species are looking for a second home due to the university's building plans. This home could be found, as the design suggests, in between two ends of the railway that up until now and together with the highway A 10, isolates the area from the rest of the city. With existing plans to put the highway underground, the district's spatial deadlock could then only be solved by realizing two railway terminals and by keeping the central area free – for a green corridor that connects the Zuidas to Amsterdam and its (green) surroundings.
By enlarging a close-by park, the Beatrixpark, and creating a functional symbiosis between train station and greenhouse with (sub)tropical plants, palm trees and cactuses at the Eastern terminal and a green axis that would lead to the Western station, commuters and district would be enriched with 'natural capital'.