The city is growing rapidly. Due to the influx of internationals, social and cultural differences are also increasing. Reason for the city council to work on a kind of ‘living room of Eindhoven’, where expats and residents of the first hour can come together. According to the municipality, De Witte Dame is the ideal location.
The plans do not yet have a definite shape but the desire has existed for some time to create a ‘living room of Eindhoven’. This could be used to hold exhibitions and all kinds of activities that bring people from different backgrounds together. Although there are no precise plans yet, the city council has already set aside a budget to take steps to realise the ‘living room’. The municipality does not want to say how much money has been reserved.
Wish
Director Albert Kivits of the library in the iconic Witte Dame also has this desire for such a living room. Together with Eindhoven365 and the Expat Center, he is the driving force behind the Hotspot project. “We are growing and internationalising. Soon Eindhoven will have 300,000 inhabitants. Then there has to be a place where people who have been Eindhoven residents for only a short time or their entire lives can come together,” says Kivits.
About five years ago, the seed for the idea was planted when thinking about the future prospects of the Witte Dame. The initiators, including honorary citizens Peter Kentie and Eric Boselie , still find it remarkable that a city like Eindhoven does not have a place like Forum in Groningen or the LocHal in Tilburg.
Feet on the ground
The arrival of a similar multifunctional location will have some difficulties, if the green light is given for the Witte Dame as a destination. The current library is too small. It now covers 3600 square meters, but that should become approximately 7500 square meters. Kivits: “The owners of the Witte Dame want to start the redevelopment of the middle part of the building next year.”
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translated by Yawar Abbas
