Tagged: water

Detail of the Rotterdam Water Map, shaped like rust patterns on the hull of a ship, zoomed in on the city center and the Kop van Zuid district

28. August 2017

Rusty Rivers – the Rotterdam Water Map

On one of my photo tours through Rotterdam I went to Park Quay. At that location, not far from the inner city, often relatively large seagoing ships are moored. This time, one of those ships was in obvious need of some major maintenance. I made some pictures of it, including this one: Rust I can look at this kind of pictures for hours. A lot of things are happening here on a couple of square meters! The red paint on the ship’s hull is irregularly discolored into a wild palette of shades all the way to purple and pink. In… Read More

Reflection of the New Luxor Theatre in the water of Rijnhaven in Rotterdam

Photography

15. September 2016

Painting Waves: the Coincidental Artist

If you’re looking at my photographic work, it’s obvious that reflections are an important theme: in mirrors, in water, in glass, in metal, on ice, on wet asphalt. I even have a board devoted to the subject in Pinterest. Today I want to talk about a special kind of reflection. Under the right conditions, reflections in an undulating surface start resembling oilpaintings. With water as a canvas and coincidence as an artist. Impressionistic scenes that you only need to capture with a camera. The right circumstances So what exactly are these right conditions? To begin with: it has to be… Read More

Sunset behind the new city bridge De Oversteek (The Crossing) in Nijmegen as seen from a little beach on the banks of the river Waal

Photography

6. May 2016

The New Bridges of Nijmegen

When I visited the Room for the River project in Nijmegen, a year ago, I decided I had to come back after completion of the work. And so it happened last week, a day with four seasons, which resulted in very photogenic weather. I came back with a memory card full of pictures, especially of the five new bridges in the area. River park Nijmegen now has a beautiful river park in the heart of the city. Although at some places it still looks a bit new and barren; grass, flowers and other vegetation are still working to recapture the… Read More

The skyline of Deventer with Saint Lebuinus church, the ferryboat and the new pontoon bridge seen from the Worp near the IJsselhotel

Photography

29. December 2015

Deventer: Return of the Pontoon Bridge

For about 350 years, the Deventer Pontoon Bridge was an important connection between the west and east of the Netherlands. With the opening of nearby Wilhelmina Bridge in 1948, this remarkable river crossing became obsolete. But now the Pontoon Bridge is back, or well, a nostalgic reference to it. As a by-catch of the Room for the River project. Animation A few days before Christmas, I was in Deventer once again. This time I was more lucky with the weather than a few months ago. Finally the sky looked more or less like in the images and animations that I made for Room… Read More

Room for the rivier Deventer: the city and park De Worp are reflected in the new channel, seen from the railway bridge

Photography

18. October 2015

Room for the River Deventer: Almost Finished!

I had not picked the best day to go to Deventer. When I came out of the station the drizzle had just begun to turn into more serious rainfall. But I have nevertheless made a little tour across the railway bridge, past De Worp and across Wilhelminabridge, to see how the Room for the River project was progressing. The project for which I made this animation and that by now is almost finished. Mirror pond From the railway bridge, there’s a great view of one of the new channels that will provide a better flow during high water levels. And… Read More

Photo made in May 2015 of the Room for the River project in Nijmegen, showing the work on progress on the new channel and the Promenade Bridge

Photography / Various

12. May 2015

Work in Progress: Room for the River, Nijmegen

About five years ago, when employed at Royal HaskoningDHV, I worked on the Room for the River project near Nijmegen. Perhaps the most radical of all the projects in the national Room for the River program. Near the village/neighbourhood of Lent a new channel is created, cutting off the inside bend of the river Waal, resulting in a new island: Veur-Lent. Among other things, I made this animation. Suggested soundtrack: “This is your Lent” by Simple Minds on. Stills from the film were used to inform the public about the project like on these information cubes: Last Friday I was… Read More

Fragment of the double street map of Rotterdam which compares the streets, blocks and harbours of the city in 1939 and 2014

Cartography

27. October 2014

Rotterdam: a Tale of Two Cities

Anyone who studies a street map of Rotterdam before 1940 gets confused. Rotterdammers today would have a hard time finding their way in that pre-war city. Not only the buildings are different, also the street plan has changed beyond recognition. There are in fact two different cities. Those two cities share the same location but are separated by time. With a breaking point at the day of the bombing: May 14, 1940. Of course, other cities have also changed enormously since, say, the 1930s. But nowhere are the differences as dramatic as in Rotterdam. The destruction of the street plan Not… Read More

Front facade of the Green Pyramid, a radically sustainable house in Borne, The Netherlands: a modest entry to a surprisingly generous space

Design / Visualisation

22. June 2014

The Green Pyramid: Radically Sustainable

The Bornsche Maten is a new neighborhood in the municipality of Borne, the Netherlands. In the southern part there’s room for the so-called “Living Wild”-concept: building without restrictive rules, giving the buyer the right to determine the size of the lot and the freedom to choose which style of living suits him or her. There is still room for ten to twenty houses. In a design competition builders and architects were challenged to share their creative approach to living in the 21st century. A jury has reviewed the 39 submissions on originality, comfort, sustainability and innovation; ultimately they selected 18… Read More

View of the future breakwater islands in the IJssel river near Deventer, part of the Room for the River project

Visualisation

25. April 2014

Islands in the Stream

Stentor was, in Greek mythology, a herald with a loud voice who served in the Greek army at Troy. De Stentor is also the regional newspaper of Deventer and surroundings. Island breakwaters On April 12th, de Stentor published this image, made by 3Develop, to illustrate an article about the island breakwaters that will be made in the IJssel river: Innovation The island breakwaters are part of the Room for the River project that aims to enhance the flow of water in the IJssel, in order to prevent flooding. They are an innovative way to ensure that the channel does not… Read More

The fortifications and city of of Venlo in the 17th century, based on the map in the atlas by Joan Blaeu

Design / Visualisation

22. February 2014

Return to Venlo: the fortifications reconstructed

The picture, further on on this page, of the fortifications of Venlo is actually a spin-off of the Koninginneplein project. Working for Royal HaskoningDHV, I made the design for the glass panels in the balustrade, together with colleague Mari Baauw. The panels on the city side show the Venlo fortifications that once were on that location. On the other side are the armies that have tried time and again to conquer the city. Along the walking route from the station to the city center are the dates of the many battles in the history of Venlo, embossed in the concrete… Read More