urban planning office f.j. zandvoort bv* After its establishment in 1966, the firm quickly developed into one of the largest urban planning offices in the Netherlands. In 1966 it had 4 employees, in 1974 47 and in 1980 78, spread over offices in Hendrik Ido Ambacht, Amsterdam, Hoorn and Amersfoort. It was active in the west of the country; mostly in smaller municipalities but also in major cities. The diversity of the order portfolio is striking; from urban renewal and inner city plans to large-scale expansion districts and from village expansions to recreational areas. A specific feature was the integral and interdisciplinary approach. It did not limit itself to the delivery of plans, but remained closely involved in their realization. The firm worked almost exclusively for (municipal) authorities. Although almost all municipalities had an urban planning consultant by 1966, the smaller municipalities in particular lacked executive capacity. Bureau Zandvoort therefore employed not only urban planners but also lawyers, garden and landscape architects, planners and traffic experts. The bureau was one of the pioneers of this interdisciplinary approach, which would become commonplace in the 1970s. This approach was closely related to the firm's philosophy, which focused on an integrated approach to the living environment. The functionalist urban planning of Van Eesteren c.s., based on the separation of functions, evolved in the later 1960s into a much more complex and flexible environmental design, which responded to local conditions and residents' wishes and in which environmental requirements also played an increasingly important role. Typical of the bureau are the so-called "Molengesprekken" (application nos. 17-18, 67), informal meetings in which bureau employees philosophized with representatives of all kinds of disciplines (designers, philosophers, architectural critics, politicians, artists, entrepreneurs) about social developments and their consequences for the urban planning discipline. Deteriorating economic conditions, a withdrawing government and the increasing influence of project developers became fatal to the firm. In a sweeping reorganization in 1984, Zandvoort left the firm. It continued under the name Zandvoort Ordening en Advies and was taken over by De Weger (from 1997 Royal Haskoning) in 1991.