Westergasfabriek Cultural Park. Transforming an industrial area in Amsterdam

For almost a decade the former gasworks in the west of Amsterdam (Westergasfabriek) had hosted all manner of cultural activities in and around its buildings. What was originally regarded as a 'temporary stopgap' has now become permanent. Gracing the former grounds is a breathtaking 14-hectare park to a design by the American landscape architect Kathryn Gustafson. The monumental 19th-century buildings designed by Isaac Gosschalk have been carefully restored. The Westergasfabriek can rightfully bear the name of cultural park - a park over which local residents have fought for decades.