Hasta La Ideas

Dutch Design Week 2013: designer Christien Meindertsma has compiled photographs of hundreds of jumpers knitted by an elderly woman into a book and organised a flashmob in her honour (+ movie).

Christien Meindertsma‘s book celebrates the creations of Rotterdam resident Loes Veenstra, who has knitted more than 500 jumpers since 1955.

Museum Rotterdam and visual arts studio Wandschappen asked Meindertsma to create “something new” with the jumpers that Loes Veenstra had knitted, mostly using yarns donated to her over the years.

“In the book I tried to categorise the sweaters so that you can see the same yarn or pattern return in different pieces,” said Meindertsma. “What is quite special is that almost all pieces were knitted without a pre-made pattern; she just improvised and used what she had at the time.”

The jumpers are photographed against a neutral backdrop that enhances the patterns and the use of different yarns and threads that have become available since the 1950s.

When Meindertsma discovered that the jumpers had never been worn she organised a surprise flashmob of people wearing them on Mrs Veenstra’s street.

Groups of dancers, a marching band, a choir, baton twirlers and hundreds of volunteers wearing the sweaters appeared on the street, where Mrs Veenstra was able to view her entire output for the first time.

The project won Best Autonomous Design in the Product category at last week’s Dutch Design Awards, whose selection committee described it as “a good translation of a special story into a carefully designed book,” adding: “the flashmob puts a smile on your face.”

Other winners included a bubble-shaped extension on top of a neo-classical museum, and a conceptual proposal to shrink the human population. Iris van Herpen’s fashion collection featuring 3D-printed garments won the top prize.

Photography and videos were a cooperation with Roel van Tour and Mathijs Labadie.

The post The knitting collection of Loes Veenstra
by Christien Meindertsma appeared first on Dezeen.

News: the fictional bridges depicted on Euro banknotes have been been transformed into reality at a new housing development near Rotterdam.

Dutch designer Robin Stam was inspired by the seven images of archetypal bridges originally created by Austrian designer Robert Kalina to represent key phases in Europe’s cultural history.

The illustrations on the banknotes show generic examples of architectural styles such as renaissance and baroque rather than real bridges from a particular member state, which could have aroused envy among other countries. “The European Bank didn’t want to use real bridges so I thought it would be funny to claim the bridges and make them real,” Stam told Dezeen.

The local council responsible for constructing a new housing development in Spijkenisse, a suburb of Rotterdam, heard about the idea and approached Stam about using his designs.

“My bridges were slightly more expensive but [the council] saw it as a good promotional opportunity so they allocated some extra budget to produce them,” says Stam.

The bridges are exact copies of those shown on the banknotes, down to the shape, crop and colour.

“I wanted to give the bridges an exaggerated theatrical appearance – like a stage set,” adds Stam, who poured dyed concrete into custom-made wooden moulds to make them.

All seven bridges surrounding the development have been completed and are being used by cyclists and pedestrians. Stam says they have divided opinion among residents: “Some people’s initial impression is that the bridges are ugly but when they find out the story behind them they find it really funny.”

In his recent Opinion column, Sam Jacob talks about the made-up landmarks on Euro notes as he ponders the historic and cultural symbolism of money.

The latest Dezeen stories about bridges include a heated pedestrian bridge in Sweden and Zaha Hadid’s Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi.

See more bridge designs »
See all our stories about design and money »

Here are some more details from the designer:

On the first of January 2002 new banknotes were introduced in Europe. In addition to windows and gateways, these seven banknotes also depict several bridges. Each bridge has an individual appearance, all of which can be recognised as having originated throughout certain periods in European cultural history: Classical Antiquity, the Roman period, the Gothic period, the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo, Iron- and glass architecture and lastly contemporary, twentieth century architecture.

Designed by Robert Kalina, the bridges are meant to illustrate the tight collaboration and communication between Europe and the rest of the world in general, but more importantly, amongst the European countries in particular. However, the bridges portrayed in the banknotes are fictional.

They have been designed to prevent one single member state from having a bridge on their banknote opposed to other states not having any depicted in theirs. In other words, “member state neutral” banknotes.

Now wouldn’t it be amazing if these fictional bridges suddenly turn out to actually exist in real life? And wouldn’t it be even more amazing if these bridges were to be built in a new housing project in the former centre of urban development and suburb, Spijkenisse.

The post Fictional bridges on Euro banknotes
constructed in Rotterdam appeared first on Dezeen.

Dutch designer Roeland Otten uses mosaic tiles, paint and photographic prints to disguise scruffy public buildings like this former public toilet in Amsterdam (+ slideshow).

Above: mosaic tiles on Air Quality Measuring Station in Amsterdam

For the latest instalment in Roeland Otten’s City Camouflage project, the tiles provide a pixelated view of Jan van Galenstraat shopping street.

Otten’s project began in 2009 with the transformation of a former electricity substation on the corner of Graaf Floristraat and Heemraadsingel in Rotterdam.

Above: Transformatie Huisje in Rotterdam uses a photograph printed on aluminium

He clad the building in sheets of aluminium printed with high-resolution photographs of the surrounding streets, so that it seems almost invisible among the houses and trees.

Last year he used acrylic paint to transform a rusty electricity substation on the Boompjeskade waterfront in Rotterdam.

The bold graphic paintwork makes the substation blend in with the water and foliage nearby.

Above: acrylic paint was used for Dazzle Painted Electricity Substation in Rotterdam

Similar projects featured on Dezeen include a glass building disguised as an old farmhouse in the Netherlands and clothing that blends in with manhole covers and vending machines.

We previously featured Otten’s collection of 26 chairs that spell out letters of the alphabet.

See all installations »
See all Dutch architecture »

Here’s some more information from Otten:

Air Quality Measuring Station (2012)

An old public toilet building used to measure the quality of the air in this thoroughfare in Amsterdam was to be renewed, but the district council determined the area shouldn’t suffer from another concrete element. The design camouflages the little concrete building of GGD (Health Department of the city) Amsterdam.
 The tiling patterns bring back the lost views as pixelated images of the shopping street Jan van Galenstraat.

Made in 2012. Materials: Winckelmans tiles 5 x 5 cm in 24 colours, anti-graffiti coating. Dimensions: 1.8 x 3 x 2.8 m

Location: Jan van Galenstraat, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Dazzle Painted Electricity Substation (2012)

In the newly developed park at the Boompjeskade/Leuvenhoofd in Rotterdam there was a rusty 70s electricity substation that was not on any map, 
therefore not taken care of, and was still there after the completion of the area. 
Commissioned by Rotterdam City Development, the old object got a fresh look with this dazzle painting.

Made in 2012. Materials: acrylic paint, anti-graffiti coating. Dimensions: approx. 2 x 1.5 x 2.5 m

Location: Leuvenhoofd, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Transformatie Huisje (2009)

Purpose of the design is to bring back the lost view in this historical part of Rotterdam that was taken up by a concrete electricity substation.
 It was the winning entry of a contest for artist and designers organised by the Graaf Florisstraat in 2007.

Made in 2009. Materials: coated hi-res print on aluminium. Dimensions: 3.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 m

Location: crossing Graaf Floristraat/Heemraadsingel, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

The post City Camouflage
by Roeland Otten appeared first on Dezeen.

Dutch firm DUS Architects have created a pavilion made of bubbles.

Visitors to a Rotterdam square had to construct the soapy walls themselves by lifting metal frames from five-sided steel pools.

Anyone standing in one of these pools became enclosed inside one of sixteen massive bubbles.

The pavilion was open to the public for less than three weeks and was completed as part of the International Architecture Biennial Rotterdam, which continues until August.

We recently rounded up all our projects featuring bubbles, including a lamp that blows its own temporary shades. See them all here.

Here’s some more explanation from DUS Architects:

Announcing: The Bubble Building!

The World’s most temporary pavilion entirely made out of soap bubbles, in Rotterdam, NL

At the very centre of breezy Rotterdam, lies the world’s most fragile and temporary pavilion: The Bubble Building. The temporary pavilion does justice to its name, as it is entirely made of soap bubbles.

On invitation by the IABR (International Architecture Biennial Rotterdam) and the ZigZagCity Festival, DUS architects designed a pavilion that instigates interaction, as the pavilion only appears when visitors build it themselves. The Bubble Building opened to the public on April 20th and can still be visited until Sunday May 6th, at the Karel Doormanhof in Rotterdam, NL.

The Bubble Building is made from 16 hexagonal shaped mirroring ponds; a shape derived from the natural shape of connected foam bubbles. Positioned in a square plan, the steel ponds create a 35 m2 reflective soap surface, strong enough to carry human weight. This creates a surreal scene, as visitors wearing rubber boots seem to stand on a reflective water surface. No sign of a pavilion, just a few handlebars that hint at what needs to be done.. What happens next, is an instant spectacle: When visitors pull up the handlebars, massive soap walls emerge in a split second. The soap walls appear as super slim glass, wavy, curvaceous, and always different; A multitude of soap walls and a rainbow of colours. Old and young join in to make the pavilion appear, over and over again.

Economic bubble

While the building is temporary, it refers to monumental architectural themes such as the re-building of Rotterdam. In order to make the building appear, you must erect it yourself, until it pops again. This way, the Bubble Building also is a reference to the current bursting of the economic bubble. Moreover, the Bubble Building is about collective building, as it takes at least two people to erect one cell of the pavilion. The more people join in, the larger the pavilion becomes.

Mental Monument

Visitors are invited to eternalize their own momentary version of the pavilion in a bubble snapshot, and upload these images to the ZigZagCity website. Online, a multitude of different bubble buildings appear. In these pictures lies the true beauty of the pavilion: the remembrance. As ultimately, the Bubble Building is about beauty.

It is said that temporary experiences are perceived as more beautiful, because they only last for a short time. Rotterdam philosopher Erasmus said ‘Homo Bulla Est’ – ‘man is a soap Bubble’. Life is momentary. So go build the Bubble Building, because it will only be there for an instant!

Newly positioned windows reveal the overhauled interior of a Rotterdam townhouse that was formerly an abandoned apartment block.

Designed by Studio Rolf.fr in partnership with Zecc Architecten, Black Pearl now houses a workshop on its ground floor, a hot tub in its rooftop greenhouse and living quarters in the two floors between.

These living areas are filled with furniture by Studio Rolf.fr, including cabinets that appear to be sliced in half and chairs wrapped in bandages.

Traces of stripped away floor joists are visible on both exposed and painted brickwork walls, while new partitions and floors are grey-painted timber.

The facade of the 100-year-old building is painted black, but the side elevation and roof are covered with artificial grass.

The architects recently received an award from furniture brand Lensvelt, who named the project as the best interior of the year in the Netherlands or Belgium.

If you’re interested in Dutch houses, you can see more here.

Photography is by Frank Hanswijk.

Here’s some more text from the architects:

Black Pearl Rotterdam South

Social context

This house takes part of a program of the congregation Rotterdam who wanted to revitalize disadvantaged neighbourhoods by selling metier houses to private persons.

These homes have in common that they are neglected the last few years and have to be refreshed. The buildings usually consist of several small apartments, one per layer.

The purpose of the municipality by selling the buildings is to attract inhabitants with more carrying-capacity. Condition of sale is that the property will be restored within a specified period and will transformed into one house. This causes less, but larger houses. This is the opposite trend to what happens in many inner cities where larger houses are divided into several small apartments.

The renovation of the Rotterdam ‘metier house’ is turned into an architectural spectacle, where was experimented with time and space. The 100 years old facade of a dwelling in a closed housing unit, is totally painted black. Both masonry, frames and “windows” are covered with a shiny black oil. This creates a kind of ‘shadow’ of the original facade. In some places the new transparent windows pierce through the historical facade. The new windows announce a time with a very different way of living. This creates a relationship between the original facade and the new interpretation which become readable. All floors and small rooms behind the old windows run into one spatially contiguous entity.

Just like in the façade, also in the interior the traces of the past remained visible. On the building walls an old banister and holes of removed floor joists reveal the original layout of the dwelling. The new house in the 100 year old cover has a completely different planning. The traditional layout of floors and walls, which compose the rooms are missing. Instead a series of small wooden slats compose a huge sculptural element.

By this is a continuous space is left between the four walls of the historic building. This creates living spaces, which are connected by voids, large stairwells and long sightlines. All redundant banisters, railings and doors are left out, causing a high degree of spatial abstraction. Floors, walls, stairs and ceilings blend together and seem to recall an “Escher-like” impossibility. Yet this metier house (that has been empty for nearly 30 years) is far from uninhabitable. In the lower part of the house a large workroom is placed connected to the ‘roof tiles-bamboo garden’. Above is a series of semi-open living functions: living, eating, cooking, study, sleeping and a bathroom / closet.

The old roof tiles are removed in the upper part (re-used in the garden) and a new greenhouse is placed with a hot tub with a stunning view.

New interpretation: three worlds

The existing building is used as a box to build a completely new house in it. All walls and floors of the house were demolished which created a space of 5 meters wide, 10 meters long and 11 meters high. In and up this box three different “worlds” are stacked: the studio, the house and the roof garden. On the ground floor, the 5 meters high studio is built. This studio space is kept as open as possible. This is achieved by organizing the necessary facilities along the walls as much as possible, in one continuous element. The living area is placed above the studio with a height of 6 meters. In this space, a sculpture is build which divides space into several areas without creating closed rooms. The object is designed and situated in a way that in several places views arise which emphasize the entire length, width and height of the place. The design is concentrated on the residual spaces between the object and the existing walls.

Materialization sculpture

The sculpture is entirely composed of screwed bars together which forms both construction and finish. This construction method creates a great freedom of form. A large part of the object hangs with these bars on the roof floor so that support becomes superfluous.

Click above for larger image

Colour use
In the house, five colours are used: black, white and three greyscales. An existing side wall is totally painted white. The traces of construction, including the old railings and pipes are all painted white. The other building wall is left untreated. The different faces of the object are painted in three greyscales. These shades are aligned to the space they enclose. By this method, the space between the object and the existing box are strengthened.

Rotterdam South accommodates with this new metier house a black pearl…

Date preliminary design: January 2008
Start construction activity: December 2008
Acceptance: September 2010
Floor area: 170 m2

Architect
Design facade: Studio Rolf.fr i.p.w. Zecc architecten
Design interior: Studio Rolf.fr
Project architects: Rolf (Studio Rolf.fr), Yffi van den Berg & Marnix van der Meer