Tagged: bijenkorf

Artist impression of the sculpture by Hendrik van den Eijnde from the facade of architect W.M.Dudok's Bijenkorf department store, back on its original location on Coolsingel in Rotterdam

The return of the sculpture on Dudok’s Bijenkorf to the Coolsingel

For almost twenty years now, Rotterdam art lovers have been trying to bring the sculpture by Hendrik van den Eijnde, the only remnant of the old Bijenkorf department store by architect W.M Dudok, back to the place where it belongs: the Coolsingel. The omens are favourable: it may happen soon. Woerden As early as 2005, Aad Koster, board member of the Roterodamum Historical Society, raised the alarm: the Bijenkorf sculpture had been wasting away for decades on a business park in Woerden. There, at the Bijenkorf’s distribution center, the artwork was placed in 1973. Plaque The sculpture is often referred… Read More

The giant steel sculpture The New Delft Gate by artist Cor Kraat on the corner of Pompenburg aan Haagseveer in 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 sculpture in Rotterdam is somewhat larger than elsewhere. The city has a remarkable number of artworks 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.… Read More

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

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

Rotterdam, Oostplein: Return of the Windmill

If you would like to rebuild all the lost monuments in Rotterdam, you are faced with an impossible task. It may not be desirable either, all this nostalgia for an idealized past. We must move on and build cities that are an answer to the challenges of our time. However, I would like to make an exception for windmill De Noord on Oostplein. A relatively small structure, so it’s easy to realize. But the impact on the square and its surroundings would be enormous. Rotterdam 2040 A while ago I saw on Vimeo the movie Rotterdam 2040, created by Gyz… Read More

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

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… Read More

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

Exhibition in/about Rotterdam

Yesterday my exhibition in the cafe in 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: More exhibitions with my work: at the Oranjebrug gallery in Schiedam and at the RIVM in Bilthoven.