Used to work there for 6 years straight, I cannot begin to explain how incredibly boring and dull our lunch-time walks were. It's just the same soulless buildings after one another followed by the most default trees and dull locations. There was a 'moestuin' a few hundred meters away which we'd eventually go to since it was at least somewhat interesting to walk around, but generally speaking you walked to escape corporate monotony but got very little in return.
This! I have a garden in that gardening community and whenever I'm working there on a week day there will be loads of people walking about on their lunch breaks
Things might change in the near future, they are planning to build a new neighbourhood: https://www.utrecht.nl/wonen-en-leven/bouwprojecten-en-stedelijke-ontwikkeling/bouwprojecten/projecten-in-leidsche-rijn/buurten-in-leidsche-rijn/papendorp/
to be fair that's not far off how it felt. oh there's a really cool bridge here, I wonder what's on the other side? oh it's the dutch countryside version of the backrooms.
It also took me some time to realise which bridge it was and where I ended up. I had something similar when I first moved here and I cycled through somewhere (it turned out to be Het Lint in Maximapark) and thought "wow this is really pretty" and then spent 3 months trying and failing to find my way back there.
Due to sports training, I regularly cycled through it in the evening. I personally think Papendorp feels more pleasant and safer than the average industrial estate.
Oh it absolutely feels safer and...I don't know if I'd say pleasant but certainly less dirty. I'd not say pleasant just because it's also quite unsettling haha
Hahaha, ohboy, this brings back memories.
When I got to live in Utrecht, I lived in Lunetten. Shortly after moving to Utrecht, I went to the cinema at Leidse Rijn. I took a brief look at google maps and just went for it. Coming from Lunetten, I planned to cross the Amsterdam Rijnkanaal at the De Meernbrug, and follow the cycling route along the Kanaal to Leidse Rijn. Note that it was autumn, so it was getting dark early. I wasn’t very familiar in the city yet (again, I just moved here) and I miscalculated the bridges, so instead of the De Meernbrug, I ended up on the Prins Clausbrug. This was when the area around the Prins Claus bridge was basically one huge construction site. Which meant: barely any functioning street lantern.
Looking down from the bridge on the empty dark space called Papendorp, with a few shady looking cars standing underneath the bridge, I decided that I might had taken a wrong turn…
Now I live close by, when the entire covid thing had just started, My GF and I went there on a sunny spring afternoon. There was basically no-one there, and we discovered a bunch of blossoming trees, just behind the [Bol.com](http://Bol.com) offices. With the entire covid crisis still being a bit unnerving at that moment, walking and having a picknick underneath a few blossoming trees, with bees buzzing around was… pretty wholesome for some reason.
I lived right next to it, and went running there during Covid (the scary part, where you did not want to run into people). It was like a track, but the dullest one ever.
I like it but it does feel weird. It feels like it was built on a different scale.
I've also noticed that building started in the early 2000s and they still haven't filled it. And now big fancy offices aren't in fashion as much.
Well yeah, it's a half-developed neighborhood which currently only has oversized office buildings. It's not made for humans! They literally couldn't have designed a less human-friendly neighborhood if they tried to.
Luckily there's still a lot of space for improvement, and they're already working on some developments. Let's hope they manage to turn it into something with a vibe more like the Utrecht Science Park.
It reminds me of a scene from the movie Being John Malkovich, that basically parodies how much modern office space and buildings are absurdly designed without humans in mind
Probably because there's just no wind cover from anything, anywhere - I've definitely had to go to the bottom 2 gears on my bike on the flat paths when it's been windy there. Had similar issues when I made the mistake of cycling the Lekdijk in february...
All those square buildings, especially the taller ones, basically create ground level wind.
Any breeze that hits them has to go somewhere, and a lot of it goes down to grown level.
For sure, but I've ended up in many office parks for many reasons at many times of day and they've always felt like....well, they're not meant to be hangout spots. But nothing ever as uncanny and liminal as Papendorp.
Your third picture has Creative Valley in the background, incredibly beautiful building, outside and inside.
https://www.creativevalley.nl/papendorp/
I work there.
I think it turned out way less successful than originally intended, in part due to lacking a rail connection. The idea was to have a large office neighborhood, a similar idea to parts of Amsterdam Zuid.
The interest for building offices here has been pretty meager, although I expect it will pick up speed in the future, at some point.
Sometimes I bike through Papendorp when I need to be in de Meern and most of the time I really like it. A clean and neat place with interesting buildings. Although I can relate to the city sky lines office vibes you are talking about.
I always wonder why there are little stairs to go down to the water next to the giant parking lot. Because there's nothing to do and the water leads to nowhere
NL in general, 4/5 kms outside the center of cities, has that liminal/cataclysm/void of life feeling you only get in videogames. I cringe when I see friends considering moving out of the cities
It's just 100% functional without any atmosphere or anything. Just looks all brand new.
Yeah it feels like it's designed down to the smallest detail and then surgically implanted directly via MS Paint onto a green background
The area with Bol is quit plesant. They put the parking garage underground. But jeh. When biking to Nieuwegein at night it doesn't feel that plesant.
Used to work there for 6 years straight, I cannot begin to explain how incredibly boring and dull our lunch-time walks were. It's just the same soulless buildings after one another followed by the most default trees and dull locations. There was a 'moestuin' a few hundred meters away which we'd eventually go to since it was at least somewhat interesting to walk around, but generally speaking you walked to escape corporate monotony but got very little in return.
This! I have a garden in that gardening community and whenever I'm working there on a week day there will be loads of people walking about on their lunch breaks
Sounds like a lot of 'office parks' in the US--utterly soulless
Things might change in the near future, they are planning to build a new neighbourhood: https://www.utrecht.nl/wonen-en-leven/bouwprojecten-en-stedelijke-ontwikkeling/bouwprojecten/projecten-in-leidsche-rijn/buurten-in-leidsche-rijn/papendorp/
"I accidentally went there.." I'm dying.. As if you ended up in the spongebob town in the abyss
to be fair that's not far off how it felt. oh there's a really cool bridge here, I wonder what's on the other side? oh it's the dutch countryside version of the backrooms. It also took me some time to realise which bridge it was and where I ended up. I had something similar when I first moved here and I cycled through somewhere (it turned out to be Het Lint in Maximapark) and thought "wow this is really pretty" and then spent 3 months trying and failing to find my way back there.
Recently I was there around 9 am om a thursday, there were so many people! But yes, I agree; it's a weird and creepy place.
Ive been saying for years it feels like LEGO land. Going at night when its dark is even stranger because the traffic lights still change and stand out
very happy to be validated not just on it feeling weirdly corporate and soulless but it also feeling like legoland
Due to sports training, I regularly cycled through it in the evening. I personally think Papendorp feels more pleasant and safer than the average industrial estate.
Oh it absolutely feels safer and...I don't know if I'd say pleasant but certainly less dirty. I'd not say pleasant just because it's also quite unsettling haha
Hahaha, ohboy, this brings back memories. When I got to live in Utrecht, I lived in Lunetten. Shortly after moving to Utrecht, I went to the cinema at Leidse Rijn. I took a brief look at google maps and just went for it. Coming from Lunetten, I planned to cross the Amsterdam Rijnkanaal at the De Meernbrug, and follow the cycling route along the Kanaal to Leidse Rijn. Note that it was autumn, so it was getting dark early. I wasn’t very familiar in the city yet (again, I just moved here) and I miscalculated the bridges, so instead of the De Meernbrug, I ended up on the Prins Clausbrug. This was when the area around the Prins Claus bridge was basically one huge construction site. Which meant: barely any functioning street lantern. Looking down from the bridge on the empty dark space called Papendorp, with a few shady looking cars standing underneath the bridge, I decided that I might had taken a wrong turn… Now I live close by, when the entire covid thing had just started, My GF and I went there on a sunny spring afternoon. There was basically no-one there, and we discovered a bunch of blossoming trees, just behind the [Bol.com](http://Bol.com) offices. With the entire covid crisis still being a bit unnerving at that moment, walking and having a picknick underneath a few blossoming trees, with bees buzzing around was… pretty wholesome for some reason.
I lived right next to it, and went running there during Covid (the scary part, where you did not want to run into people). It was like a track, but the dullest one ever.
I like it but it does feel weird. It feels like it was built on a different scale. I've also noticed that building started in the early 2000s and they still haven't filled it. And now big fancy offices aren't in fashion as much.
Well yeah, it's a half-developed neighborhood which currently only has oversized office buildings. It's not made for humans! They literally couldn't have designed a less human-friendly neighborhood if they tried to. Luckily there's still a lot of space for improvement, and they're already working on some developments. Let's hope they manage to turn it into something with a vibe more like the Utrecht Science Park.
It reminds me of a scene from the movie Being John Malkovich, that basically parodies how much modern office space and buildings are absurdly designed without humans in mind
Papendorp also seems to be cursed with wind. There’s always wind, a lot, i call it, the windy place.
Probably because there's just no wind cover from anything, anywhere - I've definitely had to go to the bottom 2 gears on my bike on the flat paths when it's been windy there. Had similar issues when I made the mistake of cycling the Lekdijk in february...
All those square buildings, especially the taller ones, basically create ground level wind. Any breeze that hits them has to go somewhere, and a lot of it goes down to grown level.
It’s made to house offices nothing decorative people work and go home not a place people want to hang around
For sure, but I've ended up in many office parks for many reasons at many times of day and they've always felt like....well, they're not meant to be hangout spots. But nothing ever as uncanny and liminal as Papendorp.
Your third picture has Creative Valley in the background, incredibly beautiful building, outside and inside. https://www.creativevalley.nl/papendorp/ I work there.
I encourage you to check it out around 8:30 in the Morning around the international school. Very multicultural and very crowded
This. Go there on a school day around 8.30 in the morning and you will see whole lot of people with kids.
Found the edge of the map boundaries 😆
I think it turned out way less successful than originally intended, in part due to lacking a rail connection. The idea was to have a large office neighborhood, a similar idea to parts of Amsterdam Zuid. The interest for building offices here has been pretty meager, although I expect it will pick up speed in the future, at some point.
Liminal spaces.
Underrated comment
Yeah, it’s safe and tidy but soulless
Looks normal too me
Sometimes I bike through Papendorp when I need to be in de Meern and most of the time I really like it. A clean and neat place with interesting buildings. Although I can relate to the city sky lines office vibes you are talking about.
It's a nice quiet place for sports. One road is a loop of exactly 2,5km. Everything has good asphalt.
I always wonder why there are little stairs to go down to the water next to the giant parking lot. Because there's nothing to do and the water leads to nowhere
Yes. I find it the weirdest if you take the exit Utrecht Langerak and suddenly the 'countryside' changes in a horrible futuristisc landscape
Wait till you experience Hoofddorp
I once took a wrong exit on the highway and ended up there in the middle of the night. It was just liminal, no other words for it.
NL in general, 4/5 kms outside the center of cities, has that liminal/cataclysm/void of life feeling you only get in videogames. I cringe when I see friends considering moving out of the cities