ARTS HOLLAND MAGAZINE
urban space is the place
Creative thinking and design have gained a vital position in our everyday life as well as in our daily urban habitat. New technologies are radically changing how we work, encounter and impact on our surroundings. City people are becoming aware of their personal contribution to the existing city and a new generation of key players is redefining Dutch cities from within. These are highly multidisciplinary people and they take on as many roles as needed to make their vision for the new urban space a place of reality.
rotterdam In Rotterdam, right next to the Central Station, behind the new glossy high-rise towers, a string of post-war office buildings and a derelict railway viaduct have been saved from demolition and ushered back into life by ambitious young architects and planners, who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. Initiated by architects ZUS (Zones Urbaines Sensibles) the transformation of a post-war office building into an interdisciplinary urban laboratory called the Schieblok created a ripple event in the Rotterdam Central District. The Schieblock has been set up as collaboration between ZUS, who are responsible for the concept development and the creative content and CODUM who are responsible for the way the building is used. The Schieblock consists of five floors of work studios and on the ground floor the Bar Dependance. A food garden is on the roof and the parking lot includes a biergarten. Across the road is the former Hofplein railway station. This 1.9 km-long railway viaduct forms the start of the Hofplein line, a 28.5 km railway that used to link Rotterdam with The Hague and the beach at Scheveningen. The old station has been the location of many underground parties and exhibitions over past decades; the building and the surrounding urban space has been a matter of contention in the city. In 2008 Crimson Architectural Historians, together with architect AFARAI and PEÑA architecture, initiated a pilot to develop the first seven arches in to a mini shopping mall.
a citywide pledge to support the rejuvenation of a longforgotten district.
The Mini Mall offers 2,500 square metres of retail space to entrepreneurs, artists, designers and other creative minds. The development of the Hofplein Station into a compact shopping mall answers a lack of affordable locations in Rotterdam where fresh new initiatives could first see the light of day. Here there is space for special catering outlets, original shop formats for independent designers, innovative events and festivals and bold artistic initiatives. The authentic character of the old station has made the Mini Mall a place that connects people. One of its special qualities is that it is possible to program events and other activities in the p 44
communal inner area and on the events site on the roof that overlooks the city. The advantage of this event-oriented and open source approach is that as an urban location the Mini Mall always remain new, relevant and up-to-date. In 2012 the connection between these two new urban spaces became physical when 48,000 Rotterdammers voted in a referendum for the realization of the Luchtsingel. With the four million euros awarded by the citizens of Rotterdam via a stadsinitiatief, or ‘city initiative’, an elevated wooden pedestrian path is being built right through the Schieblock, over a busy road, over the train tracks, to the roof of the Mini Mall. What started out as a crowdfunding project where 1,300 people donated money in exchange for having their name on a piece of timber used in the making of the Luchtsingel, or Air Boulevard, became a citywide pledge to make the city more pedestrian friendly and to support the rejuvenation of this long-forgotten district. schieblock.com mini-mall.nl
Amsterdam While in the city of Rotterdam the focus is on bigger and bolder in Amsterdam pioneering creatives are slowly taking over the nooks and crannies of the notorious Red Light District. The do-it-yourself mentality of a handful of pioneers is a powerful force in the establishment of new attractions in this historic area. The top-down efforts of the mayor and city council gradually to rid the area of prostitution has left a lot of spaces unused. Red Light Radio was one of the first arrivals on the Oudekerksplein in the heart of the Red Light District. Surrounded by working girls, the online radio station opened its doors in December 2010 as a pop-up and has since become a permanent feature Amsterdam life. From a former prostitution window, Red Light Radio broadcasts local and international DJs, musicians and artists. All the shows are one-offs and offer the most eclectic mix of musical styles ever heard on radio. Founded by Hugo van Heijningen and Orpheu de Jong, its aim was to create an alternative to the mainstream radio stations and to give local subcultures a broadcasting platform. Through an ambitious crowdsourcing effort, Red Light Radio won the hearts of Amsterdammers keen to have the pop-up radio station continue its work of broadcasting eccentric and underground music. Now, whenever international DJs are in