First User Experiences and Well-being Effects of the NDSM Wharf Waterfront Transformation in Amsterdam

Western cities are rapidly densifying, and new building typologies are being invented to mitigate high-rise and balance residential, commercial and recreational functions. This vertical urbanization requires rethinking the traditional design of public space to promote citizens’ well-being. While the scarce studies on high-rise environments indicate several risks, including social fragmentation (Henderson-Wilson 2008; Love et al., 2014), mental stress and undermining attention restoration (Mazumder et al., 2020; Lindal & Hartig 2013), evidence on the potential salutary and mitigating effects of architectural design qualities is limited (Suurenbroek & Spanjar 2023).

The Building for Well-being research project combines biometric and social data-collection techniques to address this gap. It builds on studies investigating how built environments allow user engagement (Mallgrave 2013; Simpson 2018) and afford important activities (Gibson 1966). This case study focuses on the experiences of predominant users of the NDSM Wharf in Amsterdam as it is transformed from a post-industrial site into a high-density, mixed-use neighborhood. Using eye-tracking, field and laboratory-based surveys, it explores how residents, passers-by and visitors visually experience, appreciate and perceive the restorative value of the wharf’s recently developed urban spaces.

Thirty-six university students were randomly recruited as test subjects for the laboratory test and assigned to one of the three user groups. The resident and passer-by groups were primed for familiarity. Each group was assigned a distinct walking mode and participants were told to imagine they were strolling (residents), rushing (passers-by) or exploring (visitors). The exposure time to visual stimuli of participants was five seconds per image. Afterwards, they reported on the perceived restorative quality of ten urban spaces, focusing on: (1) sense of being away, (2) level of complexity-compatibility and (3) fascination, based on an adapted Restorative Components Scale (RCS, Yin et al. 2022; Laumann et al. 2001). Self-reported appreciation per scene was measured on a 10-point Likert scale and subjects indicated elements in the ten urban spaces they liked or disliked (see Figure 1). A semi-structured on-site survey was also carried out to investigate user experiences further and for triangulation. Thirty-one users, consisting of residents, passers-by and visitors to the NDSM Wharf, rated their appreciation of the site and its perceived restorative and design qualities (following Ewing & Clemente, 2013) on a 10-point Likert scale.

The meta-data analysis of RCS statistics, appreciation values, eye-tracking metrics and heatmaps reveals distinct visual patterns among user groups. This points to the influence of environmental tasks and roles (see Figure 2). Strolling and exploring resulted in a comprehensive visual exploration of scenes with a higher mean total fixation count and shorter mean total fixation duration than goal-oriented walking. It suggests that walking mode determines the level of openness to the environment and that architectural attributes can also steer visual exploration. Scenes with the highest appreciation scores correlated with the RCS outcomes. They displayed coherence and opportunities for social engagement, contrasting with scenes with inconsistent industrial and contemporary features. These findings provide spatial designers with insights into the subliminal experiences of predominant user groups to promote well-being in urban transformation.