Zinder, Tiel

“Zinder is a stunning building and a fantastic stimulus for Tiel and the wider region, especially as regards cultural life. An open and welcoming setting for the realisation of the core of our mission: experience, discover and connect.” Ruud van Zuilen, Director of Cultuurbedrijf Tiel

Tiel’s new culture cluster Zinder is situated between the city centre and the river Waal. The building stimulates and invites the inhabitants of Tiel and surroundings to participate. Music or dance lessons, follow a painting course, borrow books, rehearse with your band and go to a pop concert, it’s all happening in Zinder. De Zwarte Hond, responsible for the architectural, urban and landscape design, and the municipality of Tiel have won the Steden in Beweging (StiB) Award 2019. The prize is awarded for the most successful area enhancement that contributes to the vitality and dynamics of a city or village.

The municipality of Tiel is actively boosting the attraction of its city. The qualities of the river Waal will be exploited more fully and the relationship between the city centre and the river reinforced. The level of facilities is being raised and access to the city centre will also be improved. Zinder is an important component of these plans. The project is very meticulously embedded between the river, the historic city centre and the formal Rechtbankstraat. What carries the plan is the raised culture podium: a new plaza with the volumes of the arts centre (Zinder Education) and the public library. The podium exploits the differences in height of the venue, transforming it into an attractive recreational area that will function as an extension to the culture building – blurring the boundaries between inside and outside. The differences in height are transformed into usable spaces and an intimate viewpoint overlooking the river is created. A four-storey, underground car park ensures that the former parking area on the Waal can be used for events. By separating the entrance to the car park from the building and also thereby giving it shape, the city centre gains a new, welcoming entrance.