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visualisatie, ontwerp, fotografie / visualisation, design, photography

Tagged: bijenkorf

The giant steel sculpture The New Delft Gate by artist Cor Kraat on the corner of Pompenburg aan Haagseveer in Rotterdam

Photography / Rotterdam

The Rotterdam Public Sculpture Top 10

Every city has a collection of statues and other works of art in public spaces. But I do feel that the average artwork in Rotterdam is somewhat larger than elsewhere. The city has a remarkable number of sculptures that are so large that you can walk through them. The reason may be that, in the spaciously designed post-war inner city, there is simply more room to go big. I wondered what were my favourite public sculptures in Rotterdam and I came to this list of ten. Let me start with a disclaimer: I don’t know much about art at all....

Combination of an old photo of people waiting in line in front of the Bijenkorf department store in Rotterdam with a recent image of the same location on Coolsingel

Rotterdam

The Return of the Bijenkorf Sculpture: an Update

“The ‘Bijenkorf stone’ is coming back – perhaps”, NRC, a national newspaper with Rotterdam roots, headlined on Saturday 3 February. And indeed: there is news about the sculpture by Hendrik van den Eijnde, which from 1930 to 1960 decorated the façade of the old Bijenkorf department store, designed by architect W.M. Dudok. The sculpture is currently hidden in a place that doesn’t really do it justice: the Bijenkorf’s logistic center in Woerden. But as the only remnant of the architectural masterpiece that was so ruthlessly demolished in 1960, it deserves a location in the center of Rotterdam, preferably as close...

Artist impression of the facade sculpture by Hendrik van den Eijnde, originally on the old Bijenkorf bij architect Dudok, integrated in one of the entrances of Beurs metro station in Rotterdam

Rotterdam / Visualisation

A Visit to the Bijenkorf Sculpture

Last Friday I finally saw it in reality, the sculpture by Hendrik van den Eijnde that once adorned the regretted Bijenkorf department store by architect Dudok on Coolsingel. Since 1973 the piece has been sitting on the Bijenkorf’s expedition area in Woerden: For years people have been trying to return van den Eijnde’s work to Rotterdam. As a result of questions by Labour councilor Co Engberts and of the proposal by West8 for refurbishment of Coolsingel, the discussion about the sculpture has flared up again. A good reason to visit the object, together with some stakeholders, including representatives of the...

Impression of Dudok's Bijenkorf department store and windmill de Noord possibly reconstructed in Miniworld Rotterdam

Rotterdam

The Windmill Will be Reconstructed! But not on Oostplein

Well over a year ago I made a visualization of the reconstruction of the windmill on Oostplein in Rotterdam. A brief summary: the mill survived the bombing of 1940 but burned down in 1954; plans for rebuilding were voted down by the City Council because the windmill was standing in the way of progress. Since then, Oostplein has been the most desolate square of the country, or at least of Rotterdam. Reconstruction of the windmill would be a way to give the place some of its former allure again. Guerrilla marketing A guerrilla marketing campaign that I did together with Gyz...

Facade sculpture of the old Bijenkorf department store by architect Dudok, relocated to it's original position on Coolsingel, supported by a steel structure

Rotterdam / Visualisation

The Only Right Place for the Bijenkorf Sculpture

Exactly 75 years after the old Bijenkorf department store in Rotterdam was hit by a German bomb, Dudok’s masterpiece is back in the spotlight. It’s a tragic story: the most beautiful Dutch building of the twentieth century was badly damaged in the bombing on May 14, 1940, partially patched up but finally demolished in 1960. I wrote earlier about this forgotten monument on the 3Develop website and in a blog article. City of Light A very important role in the renewed interest is played by the documentary City of Light, the forgotten Bijenkorf of Rotterdam, made by journalist Peter Veenendaal....

Artist impression of Windmill De Noord, reconstructed on the refurbished and greened Oostplein in Rotterdam

Rotterdam / Visualisation

Rotterdam, Oostplein: Return of the Windmill

A few weeks ago I saw on Vimeo the movie Rotterdam 2040, created by Gyz la Riviere. Highly recommended: the film is full of archival footage of Rotterdam in various eras. The film also makes you think about the typical Rotterdam tendency to constantly demolish historic buildings for the sake of progress, or for other reasons. Of course, the German Air Force in 1940 had a disproportionate share of the demolition. But you would expect that people would be more careful with what was left, precisely because of that bombing. But the opposite happened. Many buildings that could have been...

The demolished Old Bijenkorf department store in Rotterdam by architect Dudok, as seen from the Schieland tower and surrounded by present day highrise buildings

Rotterdam / Visualisation

The Unknown Side of Dudok

Two years ago I made the Bijenkorf triptych , as a homage to a legendary building with a tragic history: the old Bijenkorf department store in Rotterdam by architect W.M. Dudok. Maybe the most beautiful building that was constructed in the Netherlands in the twentieth century, but after only ten years, it was largely destroyed by German bombs. The part that survived the bombing was patched up and served twenty years as a department store and as storage but was finally demolished in 1960. The documentary City of Light by Peter Veenendaal tells the complete story about this lost architectural...

Exhibition of images of Dudok's Bijenkorf department store at the Nivon cafe in Rotterdam

Rotterdam / Various

Exhibited

Yesterday my exhibition in the cafe at the Nivon building in Rotterdam started. The theme of the exhibition is the architecture and history of Rotterdam; on display are the three images of the old Bijenkorf bij architect Dudok, the panorama of Schouwburgplein and a series of digital paintings showing various locations in the city. The works are exhibited at the Nivon untill the end of april. UPDATE: The Bijenkorf Triptych was also exhibited at the Dudok Expo at the Oranjebrug gallery in Schiedam.

Night image of Dudok's Bijenkorf in Rotterdam on its original location surrounded by present day buildings, seen from the tram stop on Coolsingel

Rotterdam / Various / Visualisation

The Beehive Exhibited

On March 10, my first exhibition opens with, among others, this piece, showing the old Bijenkorf by architected W.M.Dudok on it’s original location, surrounded by present day buildings. The old Bijenkorf (or “Beehive”), a legendary building with a tragic history: opened in 1930, severily damaged during the bombing in 1940, and finally demolished in 1960. Soon virtually resurrected on the exhibition at the Nivo Dirk Smit 76, Rotterdam. UPDATE: this, and the other two sections of the Bijenkorf triptych, were also part of the Dudok exhibition at the Oranjebrug gallery in Schiedam on July 2nd and 3rd, 2016

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Frans Blok, 3d artist, designer and photographer


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