I would rather not talk about a new centre. That has to come by itself, that is not something you can plan – and besides, the real centre of Amsterdam is much too nearby for that. What’s more, a centre is for everybody, and from all the plans that have been presented, I don’t get the feeling that the Zuidas is intended for everybody. I think that what is actually lacking in this project that was launched with such bravura a decade ago is a real, focused ambition. The ing headquarters was one of the first buildings to be erected. I admire that building every time I see it. That standard should be ambition for the entire area. Now, a plan cannot only consist of highpoints, but in general, I think that the rest of the buildings that have been put up so far are pretty boring. And I’m still talking about the best part of the area to date. I think that the urban design quality of the plan is minimal, the linkup with the city is bad and the public space in some places is horrific. Nobody wants to be there. Of course, the area is by no means completed and that might very well take quite a long time. But even so, what has already been built should be part of the urban structure. In short, the project seems to be getting bogged down for all sorts of reasons, and the objectives appear to have been scaled back considerably. You cannot plan a city; a city has to grow, as has so often been shown. Although I don’t believe that you should design a city, you do have to provide a number of motivating factors, a number of guidelines along which a city or urban area can develop. The fact is, you can’t overlook a period of 30-odd years – that’s been proven time and again. What’s more, when this period has elapsed, the first buildings that were erected will be due for renovation or structural alterations. A city is an organic whole in which every planning decision functions as an intermediate level in its overall manifestation. No one determines what a city will look like; we all do that together. Actually, the city directs itself. In order to achieve this, you first have to build good infrastructure. That will function as a framework for the area. Roads, trains, trams, metros are the arteries of the city. This provides life. By putting a large section of the A10 below the ground, you make the area lifeless, as it were. I think this decision would be disappointing. Right now I think that one of the most exciting elements in the area is the motorway that cuts through it. This is where things grate and wrench, and that’s precisely what an area needs in order to make it feel like a metropolitan district. By covering that up, you create a boring and sleepy area that might indeed be in keeping with a dormitory suburb like Buitenveldert, but does not do justice to the ambitions of a large city. The motorway is in fact the pivot. You have to intensify this; businesses should be stimulated to build pedestrian and bicycle bridges across the motorway and even offices and residential buildings, so that the area can be experienced from different perspectives.