The Meelfabriek is an industrial complex of several large buildings that produced flour from different types of grain, brought in by boats on the canal. It grew in different phases from 1883 until 1988, when production was closed down for economical and political reasons.

The cluster of buildings sits on a bastion of the mediaeval fortification of Leiden, originally an open strip of land surrounding the city, which was in the course of the 19th and 20th century gradually developed into an industrial belt. In the late 20th century most of the buildings on the industrial belt were dismantled, following the cities policy to establish a green belt of parkland.

The developer Ab van der Wiel bought De Meelfabriek complex in 1998 in order to preserve and redevelop it. The complex has now become the major remaining piece of Leiden’s industrial past. It is both a historical landmark of the city and an important document of the industrial heritage of the Netherlands.

The brief of the competition was asking for proposals to bring new life to the complex which was laying dormant since 1988, inaccessible to the public. The complex was to be opened to the public, acting as a core and offering new urban energy for the surrounding neighbourhood. New functions were to be found and a concept for the preservation of the valuable parts of the historical monument was to be proposed.

The competition was won by Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner from Switzerland. The same office then went on to develop the Masterplan in collaboration with the authorities of the City of Leiden and the Rijksmonumentendienst, the Dutch department of cultural heritage . In October 2007 the Masterplan was approved.