Last week, Smart Urban Redesign, in collaboration with Gemeente Weert, hosted the Design Challenge Spoorzone Weert, bringing together 49 enthusiastic students in the Urban Living Lab Weert. Participants came from HvA Built Environment, Urban Life & Placemaking (Breda University of AS), Fontys University of Applied Sciences, and Built Environment Zuyd.
Building on the momentum of the ninth edition of the (re)CYCLE Limburg Design Week (November 2024), this challenge invited students to engage critically with the city’s urban fabric. Their mission: to explore a series of “urban pixels” along the Weert station area and to design tactical urban interventions aligned with the workshop’s three central themes — the Vital City, the Connected City, and the Green City.
Over the course of three intensive days, students collaborated across disciplines and institutions, formulating critical questions, researching local dynamics, and co-creating innovative spatial concepts. The aim was not only to develop tactical design proposals but also to spark new ways of thinking about inclusive, resilient, and ecological urban transformation.
A heartfelt thank-you to Ella Hartke, Melika BaghbanAnbarani, Donia Hemeda, and Javier Loperena Gállego — participants from a previous edition — for generously supporting the new teams by sharing their experiences and design ideas.
We would like to thank Paul Cuppen and Selma Van Mensvoort, whose support made the workshop possible. We would also extend our gratitude to our dedicated coaching team and guest contributors, including Mariska van Walsum, Stefan Witteman, Erik Anton de Graaf, Nanda Crucq, Jennifer Nijdam, Rana Habibi, Robert Younger, Sophie Leemans, Nikkie Korsten, and Caroline Newton as well as to the SURD team members who played key roles in both coordination and mentoring throughout the workshop: Nurhan Abujidi, Dr. Cecilia Chiappini, Poorya Eghtesadi, Nima Tabrizi, Manon Demarteau and Bianca Andaloro.
Finally, we were once again warmly welcomed by Gildeopleidingen Weert, whose generous support helped create a productive and inspiring environment.
We look forward to continuing the re-imagination of Spoorzone Weert during the tenth edition of (re)CYCLE Limburg in November 2025. See you then!
