Tagged: bridges

Brienenoord Island in Rotterdam, the Netherlands with tidal nature and trees in autumn colors on a sunny day in October

6. November 2021

The Transformation of Brienenoord Island

There are few cities with a nature island within their borders. Both in the Netherlands and abroad I don’t know many examples. Rotterdam does have one. Okay, not really in the middle of the city, but well within the municipal boundaries and even (largely) within the Ringroad. We are of course talking about Brienenoord (pronounce breen-a north), separated from the rest of the city by a river channel named Zuiddiepje (which translates as Little Southern Deep) Van Brienen The island is 1400 meters long and about 200 meters at its widest point. It has been around since the early 19th… Read More

Nieuwe Maas river, Waslijn sculpture, Willemsbridge and Noordereiland in Rotterdam, The Netherlands under a spectacular sky at sunrise

Photography

14. January 2021

A January Morning in Rotterdam

The month of January, and especially the first half of it, is the perfect time to take photos at dawn. The sun rises around a quarter to nine, so you don’t have to set the alarm inhumanely early and walk around with a jet lag for the rest of the day. Therefore it has become a habit to undertake several photo expeditions through an awakening Rotterdam in this time of year. This year I hesitated. Photos during the blue hour look cool mainly because of the multitude of light sources, from glimmering daylight to headlights, street lamps and especially interior… Read More

Stained glass windows in the front facade of Steiger Church in Rotterdam during Open Monuments Day

Photography

12. September 2017

Open Monuments Day 2017 in Rotterdam: Churches, Shelters and Other Heritage

On 9 and 10 September, doors opened that usually stay closed. It was Nationale Heritage Day, or as we call it in the Netherlands: Open Monuments Day. Although the name is still singular, the event now covers the entire second weekend of September. Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of Rotterdam heritage during those days. But fortunately, the program offers new surprises every year. And sometimes it’s fun to revisit a monument as well. Schielandshuis I had been in the Schielandshuis, the only 17th century building in the city center , when it was still Museum Rotterdam. These days,… Read More

Detail of a knitting pattern of the Rotterdam skyline

Various

14. April 2017

The Rotterdam Skyline Knitting Pattern

3Develop, the reliable source for all your knitting patterns … I have the feeling that a lot of my blog posts start with “… is not 3Develop’s core business, but …”. This is one of those posts again. Graphic skyline It is yet another spin-off of my Rotterdam skyline project. I made this graphic portrayal of the city’s skyline a few years ago for a contest. Which I lost ingloriously but since then the picture, in different versions, has started to live a life of its own. It hangs on walls, it adorns birth announcement cards and on April 9… 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

Interior picture of the basement of the Orange Bridge after adaptation to a hotel suite, with double bed and ship stairs.

Design / Visualisation

30. April 2016

Sleeping in a Bridge Keeper’s Cabin in Schiedam

In Schiedam, at a stone’s throw from my place of birth, is the Orange Bridge. This structure from the thirties spans the New Harbour. Since early this year, the bridge keeper’s cabin is managed by fellow photographer, local resident, architecture lover and Schiedam promoter Jan Sluijter, who uses it to organize exhibitions and other events. Here’s a pre-announcement: on 2 and 3 June there’s an exhibition about the architecture of Dudok, including my Bijenkorf triptych. A suite in the basement Under the bridge keeper’s room is a basement, which is accessible via a ladder in one of the towers of… 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

A graphical representation of the Rotterdam skyline with all important buildings, bridges and other icons, in four different color schemes

Design

17. June 2014

A New Skyline for Rotterdam

In 2014, Rotterdam Festivals organized a design competition for a graphical representation of the city’s famous skyline. The organization used such a skyline as its logo. But in that year, three new icons were added in quick succession: Central Station, Markthal and De Rotterdam building. That called for a new skyline logo, hence the competition. The prize money was… nothing at all. Nothing? Indeed, it was all about the honor. Actually, as a designer you shouldn’t want to participate in that, but hey, it was for a good cause. And I had a good idea…. The colors of the skyline… Read More