Simulated Time in the Built Environment

Haarlemmermeer North Holland The Netherlands

Above - Fig. 1

Diagram of the site and its location in the Netherlands. (Kaye, 2022)

INTRODUCTION

In the late-20th century, postindustrial cities began investing in new civic and cultural buildings to revitalize their economies. With the critical and financial success of the Guggenheim Bilbao, the lesson for regional cities across the developed world became clear: architectural landmarks bring investment and interest to communities (Plaza et al., 2009). Located eight kilometers southwest of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the municipality of Haarlemmermeer wanted to construct such a project to mark the new millennia and spur development along transit corridors (Hoeckman, 2004, p. 36). After engaging Catalan architect and civil engineer Santiago Calatrava to produce a site vision, the municipality committed to erecting a series of three bridges. Designed in the 1990s, this project was conceived while the architectural discipline was beginning to benefit from access to novel digital tools

(Gehry, Lloyd, et. al, 2020, pp. 16). These allowed the bridges to adopt complex curves and precise machining to optimize not only material utilisation, but form. Their appearance is informed by Calatrava’s biomorphic attitude and benefits from the form-making, movement, and dynamism of Modernism (Kutlu, 2020, p. 43).

Through his essays articulating the role of modern technology in architecture, architect and theorist Toyo Ito proposed disseminated digital tools as a novel information framework which create a virtual space upon application to the built environment. In Architecture in a SimulatedCity (Ito, 2002, pp. 337341), Ito provides a foundational understanding of virtuality not as a shorthand for digital or computation, but for simulation. He argues the fluid interplay of digital media with daily life applies filters to reality, where

instead of simply living actions begin to ape those experienced in imagination. This simulation of the built environment alters the effect of virtual time, a measurement framework which records a distinct encounter of the built environment in virtual space alongside the expected physical experience (Ito, 2002, p. 342-343). The opportunity to interrogate the role of this additional temporal filter motivated inquiry into the perceived experience of different conceptions of time.

Through his investigation of conceptions of linear and nonlinear time, French philosopher Henri Bergson’s Duration and Simultaneity became a key reference as its definitions of internalized, real time and rigid, abstract time established a foundation for comprehending duration (Bergson, 1896). This proved particularly useful for investigating how the bridges act as a series to influence

apparent duration within their sphere of influence. Each bridge individually links physical space through their span across the Hoofdvaart, but they also act together to affect duration when transiting between them.

From Calatrava’s initial sketches presenting a virtual space (Fig. 2) to its final physical configuration, the bridges’ dramatic forms demonstrate interrelationships with site characteristics. To evaluate the elements of this assembly which affect the individual experiences of temporality, we inquired how do the physical components and intangible characteristics of the built environment affect our experience of time?

Bennebroek is een combinatie van bruggen. Constructief levert dat de zeer ongebruikelijke oplossing waarbij de beide via de tuien in evenwicht worden de ene brug vormt het contrageandere. Op een uitgekiende wijze Calatrava het evenwicht tussen beide in vormgeving uitgedrukt. Het is alsof het een beweegbare brug vormt. staat op een centrale pijler die tegefly-over ondersteunt. Zowel het brugdek fly-over als de pyloon rusten excendeze steun. opvallend is de fly-over met zijn 149 m overspanning en sterke hellingen. Deze ligt aan de Hoofdvaart en overspant de nieuwgebouwde Bennebroekerweg. De fly-over voor lokaal verkeer; daarvoor volstond voor beide richtingen. Verkeersbeide kanten van de brug regelen Fietsers en voetgangers mogen in beide richtingen over de brug. is de fly-over vergelijkbaar met de hier is het brugdek opgebouwd uit koker met gekromde onderzijde, uitkragende liggers zijn bevestigd voor ondersteuning van het fietspad. Een verschil is dat het brugdek hier aan één asymmetrisch, door de tuien wordt Hierdoor ontstaan grote torsiehet brugdek. De tuikabels sluiten

een doorlopend buisprofiel.

In het deel van de brug met de grootste overspanning liggen de tuikabels alle in één verticaal vlak, in de lengte-as van de brug. Hier sluiten ze aan op de koppelliggers tusen beide weghelften.

In het achterste gedeelte sluiten de kabels aan op de randbuizen die buiten de fietspaden lopen, zodat de kabels hier twee vlakken vormen. De tuien zijn aan het brugdek bevestigd met in de constructie ingebouwde doorvoerbuizen. Een onopvallende, sierlijke afsluitkap verhindert het indringen van regenwater. De 84 m lange pyloon steunt af op het wegdek. De verticale component van de drukkracht wordt naar de fundering geleid via een verticale, kegelvormige steun. Deze stalen steun is onderaan opgelegd op een stalen taats, die is ingestort in de fundering. De horizontale component uit de pyloon wordt opgenomen door de beide kokerliggers. Bij de ontmoeting van de pyloon en het wegdek komen grote krachten

aan op de randbuis van het brugdek en lopen waaiervormig uit vanaf de pyloon.

How do the physical components and intangible characteristics of the built environment affect our experience of time?

Loodrecht op de fly-over ligt de laaggelegen hoofdbrug. Deze ligt maar net boven het water en overspant in 20 m de Hoofdvaart. In beide rijrichtingen zijn er drie voorsorteervakken en een vluchtstrook. Voor elke rijrichting is er een kokervormig brugdek, ook hier verbonden door I-vormige koppelliggers. Daaraan zijn de tuien bevestigd die de hoofdbrug dragen.

2b

Right - Fig. 2

Sketches of the three bridges which comprise the case study. (Calatrava, n.d.)

Het brugdek van de Luit in Toolenburg verschilt van beide andere bruggen. In plattegrond omvat deze brug twee wegdekken van elk 26 m overspanning, één voor elke rijrichting. Aangezien deze brug deel uitmaakt van een rotonde, zijn beide brugdekken horizontaal gekromd. De pyloon vormt als het ware de wijzer van de weegschaal tussen de beide brugdekken. Uniek is dat de pyloon niet verbonden is met de brugdekken; hij staat er midden tussen, op een betonnen uitkraging. Samen met de achtertuien

38 BOUWEN MET STAAL 181 DECEMBER 2004

© S.Calatrava

foto’s:A.Karchmer

Lyre Harp Lute

Above - Fig. 3 Diagram of the position of three bridges over the Hoofdvaart. (Kaye, 2022)

2. ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK

Physical Components

The applied role of the physical components and intangible characteristics will be evaluated through the case study Bridges over the Hoofdvaart. Physical components will be described as the bridges’ materiality and situation.

Intangible Characteristics

Intangible characteristics will be understood through Toyo Ito’s provocation that modern humans experience space in two coexisting bodies: one natural and the other virtual.

Above - Fig. 4

Diagram of the two categories being researched. (Kaye, 2022)

Haarlemmermeer — a polder Hoofdvaart — its primary drainage canal

Above - Fig. 5

Diagram of the case study site as a polder with central canal. (Kaye, 2022)

2.1 - Bridges over the Hoofdvaart (1999-2004)

Reclaimed in the 19th century, the polder of Haarlemmermeer is an artificial landscape. Located between the cities of Den Haag and Amsterdam, its primary transportation arteries, along with the Hoofdvaart (its central drainage canal), transit the polder from Southwest to Northeast (“Haarlemmermeer,” 2012). To facilitate efficient crosstraffic, the three Bridges over the Hoofdvaart were built along the three kilometer stretch between Nieuw-Vennep and Hoofddorp (Fig. 7). As a project which fulfills a public function and acts

as a landmark, these bridges are contextually respectful, yet dramatic in their design (Hoeckman, 2004, p. 36). Each makes reference to the height and dynamism of historic windmills through their fine, distinctive forms visible for kilometers. The bridges’ expression in white steel are based on specific musical instruments and their interpreted forms facilitate crossing with different primary modalities at varying speeds: walking, cycling, and driving (Hoeckman, 2004, p. 35).

Above - Fig. 6

Diagram of the three bridges seen in section. (Kaye, 2022)

Santiago Calatrava Architects & Engineers

Lyre Harp Lute

VirtualSpacewithinSeries

Media Suit Virtual Time

Above - Fig. 7

Diagram of the theoretical principles of virtual space, media suits, and virtual time applied to physical space. (Kaye, 2022)

0.5 km

2.2 - Simulated Time

In his essay The Image of Architecture in the Electronic Age (Ito, 2006, p. 342), Toyo Ito posits that the modern “Electronic Age” imposes an additional layer, a sort of virtual body composed of electrons, alongside the natural body’s primitive connection to the world.

Supposing the existence of such a virtual body, he defined several functions of architecture in relation to humans:

Measuring the passage of time from building construction to image establishment, particularly the shift from real time relationships to a place imposing virtual time

To situate Ito in relation to existing theories, Bergson’s definitions of real time will act as an interpretive lens for virtual equivalents.

Acting as virtual space or simulation which represent the flow of human activities;

Embodying an inhabitable representation of human culture into which one can place themselves utilising a media suit (an applied phenomenological lens);

Natural Body Virtual Body

Henri Bergson Duration Space Motion = Real Time Virtual Time

Media Suit Virtual Space

Toyo Ito

Above - Fig. 8

Diagram comparing Ito and Bergson’s theoretical teminology. (Engelsma, 2022)

Bergson’s theory supposes three intangible characteristics affecting human understanding of the present situation: duration, space, and motion (Bergson, 1896, pp. 280-281). His theory assumes “Pure duration is the form which the succession of our conscious states assume when our ego lets itself live, when it refrains from separating its present state from its former state…” (Bergson, 2019, p. 100).

When this succession is situated perspectivally through memories, it is placed into space and becomes an abstract form of orientations to the psychic state. The passage of real time can therefore be understood as motion through which duration is oriented in space.

Using Bergson’s terminology, Ito’s theory can be defined according to the virtual body. The media suit can be compared to duration as it represents the psychic state. Human flows, or moments in time, are defined by Ito as virtual space, and are analogous with Bergson’s comprehension of space. The passage of virtual time is described as the process of designing, or the continuous motion of thoughts cataloging and envisioning a virtual space.

2.3 - Methodology

Three Experiments Comparable Results

To evaluate how the experience of time is affected by the tangible and intangible, an experiment was conducted to compare the experiences of the three authors through virtual time and real time.

Experiences in virtual time focus on the perception of media suits in virtual space, with real time defined as the baseline measurable, individual experience.

Three themes have been employed: memories (media suit), seriality (virtual space), and references (media suit situated in virtual space).

Results will focus on the insights offered through perceived variations across thematic lenses.

Above - Fig. 9 Diagram of the proposed methodology. (Kaye, 2022)

Three Themes

Memories Seriality References

Above - Fig. 10

Diagram of the three experimental themes. (Kaye, 2022)

0.5 km Walking Driving

Above - Fig. 11

Diagram of the physical routes traveled by Sharon along the Hoofdvaart. (Kaye, 2022)

3.

EXPERIMENTATION

3.1 - Memories | Sharon Engelsma

The origin of my analysis of the Bridges over the Hoofdvaart was the image in my head composited from previous memories. Its fidelity made me ponder what is the difference between experiencing time within memories and having a real experience? To evaluate, I collected my memories across different speeds and compared them to a real experience with the bridges. These memories included transit by train and driving by car on the highway next to the bridges (Appendix A - B), while novel real time experiences include driving and walking along the individual bridges (Appendix C - D). The experiences of time within memories versus real life are compared through diagrams (Fig. 12 - 13) where passing time is framed as abstract time (as measured by a clock) to create a shared axis for comparison.

The first comparison between the diagrams are the virtual and real time experiences of driving a car. In stream-of-consciousness form, a detailed description of a previous drive (Appendix B) reveals that surrounding traffic diverted attention from the bridges, an experience which was repeated during real time. In the virtual time of memory, it was possible to view the bridges slowly, while in real time both the Lyre and Lute bridges were experienced rather quickly, despite the similar amounts of heavy traffic in both situations. This suggests memories alter time by slowing down perception in relation to the real experience.

The second comparison considers apparent passages of time at varying speeds / modalities. From memory, the train seemed to move with a

speed faster than the car, yet it is perceived as reducing the passing of virtual time. Although driving is physically slower, the available attention with my state of mind was higher in the train as I was only sitting and looking outside. In the real experience, I had greater attention while walking than driving. In these experiences, there were no

surrounding effects altering the time, except near the Lyre Bridge, where no clear path existed for walking. The actual speed of the transport does not seem to affect the experience of time in either the virtual time of memory or real time, rather the state of mind clearly affects a change in the experience of time.

Above - Fig. 12 Virtual Time v. Abstract Time mapped from the perspective of driving a car and riding the train. (Engelsma, 2022)

Legend: Car Train

Above - Fig. 13

In seeking a conclusion to the difference between experiencing time within memories and having a real experience, we must recognize its formation was guided by the initial conclusion: memories can alter virtual time by sowing down the apparent experience in relation to the real time. Yet there is also another theory which reveals a larger

discussion: the state of mind and body affect the speed at which time is experienced. This will be further discussed in the conclusion when compared to others’ experiences.

Real Time v. Abstract Time mapped from the perspective of driving a car and walking. (Engelsma, 2022)

0.5 km

Bicycling

Above - Fig. 14

Diagram of the physical routes traveled by Jonathan along the Hoofdvaart. (Kaye, 2022)

3.2 - Seriality | Jonathan Kaye

In antiquity, the meaning of the number three includes the “…definite, its actual intrinsic value; another, symbolic, mystic, esoteric; and the third, indefinite, of an indeterminate number of times...” (Lease, 1919, p. 57). This triune heritage instills sets with value beyond their mere physicality and definitional primality, extending to their conveyance of completeness. However, in contemplating the Bridges over the Hoofdvaart before visiting, it became difficult to envision the virtual space defined by the bridges’ extents as anything other than fragmentary. Viewed on the internet using a satellite map, the situation appeared clearly defined as a set of three bridges along a single, diagonal axis, yet it also seemed incomprehensible. Objects can have proportional absolutes which are deconstructable in narrative form. In the electronic

age, there is a new digital reality alongside the physical and in this scaleless realm, the same electronic screen can be infinitely dimensioned to remix the size and orientation of physical components. As they seek identity, how do series rely upon virtual space to define their extent?

As my understanding of virtual space shifted from the digital to physical, my media suit resisted the new objective boundaries being encountered. No longer were the three bridges overlapping, now each inhabited a defined space and required measurable duration to move between them (Fig. 15). As I bicycled the distance between each bridge, motion became defined not by the pinching of fingers, but through the regularity of trees and the irregular form, function, and scale of the three

Abstract Time (in minutes)

Above - Fig. 15

Graph of bridge position in Virtual Space and Abstract Time. (Kaye, 2022)

bridges. Publicity photographs captured the project in its prime, establishing the forms as pure and gravity-resistant, yet these bridges now share a palette of dirty white coloration, and rusting steel structure. Distance and speed blur these effects, yet the modality of the cycle provided a panacea to over- and under-indulgence. The expected superimposition of bridges together proved impossible with the kilometers between them, but their connection was also reinforced through the distinctive

way they define space together along the axis of the Hoofdvaart.

Each bridge engages the bicycle lane in its own way, but only one bridge, the Harp, becomes an overpass and crosses the lane. This frames a space beneath it where real time is suspended and virtual time accelerates as

Types of Virtual Space by Modality

Legend: Harp Bridge Lyre Bridge Lute Bridge

16

media previously experienced are mentally rewound to search for evidence of such a pause. Yet, this duration resists record because it is reliant upon the experience of the series for its definition. As the start and terminus of the series, my motion became reliant upon this frame as a reference. Through the layering of distinct moments in virtual time, new understandings of virtual space established the scale and proportion of each discrete object and the comprehensive whole.

It was through the physical encounter of the bridges that the ways series rely upon virtual space were revealed. Through movement, their overlapping forms emerged as separate moments bound in a singular virtual space. Through this passage of virtual time, the series’ extent connected duration, space, and place as expectations coalesced with experience (Fig. 16). No longer three digital, equidistant moments, virtual space became clarified into true relationships and dimensions.

Above - Fig.

Diagram comparing conceptions of Virtual Time and Space. (Kaye, 2022)

Position in Virtual Space (relationship to media suit)

Passage of Virtual Time (relationship to series)

0.5 km Driving

Above - Fig. 17

Diagram of the physical routes traveled by Iris along the Hoofdvaart. (Kaye, 2022)

3.3 - References | Iris van Leeuwen

As an architecture student, the phase “Calatrava bridges” is burdened with references to both the architect and his trademark slender, organic forms. My first experiences with the Bridges over the Hoofdvaart came from research completed before visiting. The process of constructing such a reference frame guided my inquiry into how do preconceived ideas and knowledge affect the experience of time?

Calatrava often designs landmarks which emerge from their landscape and this assemblage of three bridges was no different. The images I examined portrayed enormous white pylons connected with guy cables to bridge decks, resulting in a playful geometric interplay of lines. Calatrava believes these “…bridges are designed for the future. These

are urban bridges that anticipate urbanization that will give Haarlemmermeer a different appearance” (Hoeckman, 2004, p. 38). Other photographs and articles contributed to a more critical image of a project beset by maintenance costs. From their almost immediate oxidization to their proportions, repair expenses joined the forms themselves in being derided as “…out of alignment in the flat country” (Het Parool, 2007). This media suit negatively coloured my understanding of the project before the physical visit.

Above - Fig. 18

Photograph at night of the Harp. Time freezes. (Hofstra, 2021)

With a reference frame defined and a media suit donned, I visited the bridges at night in real time Through the dark, all three of the bridges are visible from afar and time passes slowly as their forms rise in the distance.

The first bridge I experience is the Harp. As I move closer, suddenly time accelerates because of the interplay of lines formed by the guy cables. This virtual space feels frozen in time as the bridge adopts the effect of an optical illusion.

Above - Fig. 19

At the second bridge, the Lyre, I am overwhelmed with how to experience the bridge as it is not completely accessible by car. Without clear direction, I become more occupied with navigation than visual appreciation. Unlike the previous bridge, I push my media suit away as I feel rushed and pressured, contributing to a shortened real time.

Photograph at night of the Lute. Time skips. (Hofstra, 2021)

I arrive slowly at the Lute. The third of three bridges in my experiential sequence, this roundabout proposes no particular direction to move or timeline to follow. This makes it easier to slowly and methodically examine the bridge and cross over it a few times. Its organic form extends toward the sky with its pylon and cables, creating an impression from below and above and framing a virtual space. My opinion on the bridges has been informed by my research, yet this experience revealed that you cannot feel the passing

of real time without visiting. This media suit of knowledge contributed to my perception of virtual time on site, guiding more specific analysis. The coalescing of real time alongside virtual time contribute to an understanding richer than either would be alone.

Above - Fig. 20

Photograph at night of the Lute Bridge. Time expands. (Hofstra, 2021)

How did the physical components and intangible characteristics of the built environment affect our experience of time?

4.

CONCLUSION

Toyo Ito elucidates a filter which mediates the different experiences of time between the natural and virtual bodies. This filter and its function is assessed by inquiring how the physical components and intangible characteristics of the built environment affect our experience of time. To understand their effect, the themes of memory, seriality, and referentiality were analyzed through the filter of the media suit and the virtual space defined by it. By relating them to conceptions of virtual and real time, the physical and intangible categories are evaluated through the situation of the Bridges over the Hoofdvaart.

be concluded that memories appear to alter time by slowing down the rate of experience in relation to real time. This experiment also revealed that the measurable speed of the transport has minimal effect on the experience of time in both memory and real time, rather the state of mind affects this variation.

First, the difference between time experienced within memories and reality was analyzed by considering varying speeds and modalities of transit. As both virtual and real time was experienced while driving, it can

Next, the three bridges were evaluated as a series of frames defining virtual space. At the speed of a bicycle, the expected superposition of the bridges as a singular whole proved impossible due to the number of kilometers between them, yet their association was reinforced by the characteristic ways they define space along the axis of the Hoofdvaart. Their overlapping forms emerged as separate moments connected in a single virtual space. Through this passage, the extent of the series connects time, space, and place

as expectations align with lived experience. Physical encounters in virtual space clarify their three indistinct digital identities into interconnected relationships and dimensions.

Finally, the effect of a media suit fabricated from preconceived ideas and foreknowledge was considered. As knowledge and experience coalesced, a focus on details seemed to shorten the time between physical encounters and time began passing more slowly. Research alone is divorced from the emotion and experience of virtual space, but together they contribute to a meaningful frame of understanding which situates the passage of abstract time in relation to the apparent elongation of virtual time.

These results reveal the parameters of the media suit to be an integral filter. As a composite of personal and

referential memories, this digital creation repositions physical experience farther from reality by slowing time in virtual space. The passage and experience of this virtual time within the built environment offers opportunities for knowledge gain. It is critical to pair this new conception with a real time, physical experience to gain a comprehensive perspective of applied temporality.

Memories

Temporal Experience in Virtual Time & Space

References

Seriality

Above - Fig. 21 Diagram of the three experimental themes and their conclusion. (Kaye, 2022)

5. REFERENCES

Bergson, H. (1896). Matière Et Mémoire: Essai sur la Relation du Corps à l’Esprit. Ultraletters.

Bergson, H. & Pogson, F. L. (2019). Time and Free Will: An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness. Amsterdam University Press.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2012, January 31). Haarlemmermeer. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/ Haarlemmermeer

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2015, August 25). polder | land reclamation. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/ science/polder

Gehry, F., Lloyd, M. and Shelden, D. (2020), Empowering Design: Gehry Partners, Gehry Technologies and Architect-Led Industry Change. Archit. Design, 90: 14-23. https://doi.org/10.1002/ad.2542

Hoeckman, W. (2004). Drie bruggen Hoofdvaart, Haarlemmermeer – Muzikaal trio : harp, citer, luit. Bouwen met Staal, 181, 35–43. https:// researchportal.vub.be/nl/publications/drie-bruggen-hoofdvaarthaarlemmermeer-muzikaal-trio-harp-citer-l

Het Parool. (2007, April 10). Herstel bruggen vijf miljoen. Het Parool. https:// www.parool.nl/nieuws/herstel-bruggen-vijf-miljoen~b2f12dec/ Itō, T. & Maffei, A.(2002). Toyo Ito: Works, Projects, Writings. Electa Architecture.

Kutlu, İ. (2020). Innovations Of Engineer-Architects On Construction Technology Of Bridges. Mimarlık Üzerine - 1, 35–53.

Lease, E. B. (1919). The Number Three, Mysterious, Mystic, Magic. Classical philology, 14 (1), 56–73. https://doi.org/10.1086/360206

Plaza, B., Tironi, M., & Haarich, S. N. (2009). Bilbao’s art scene and the “Guggenheim effect” revisited. European Planning Studies, 17 (11), 1711–1729. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654310903230806

6.

FIGURE REFERENCES

Figure 1: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the site and its location in the Netherlands [Diagram], own work.

Figure 2a: Calatrava, S. (c.). Harp [Aquarelle]. Drie bruggen Hoofdvaart, Haarlemmermeer – Muzikaal trio : harp, citer, luit. Retrieved on October 6, 2022, from https:// researchportal.vub.be/nl/publications/drie-bruggen-hoofdvaarthaarlemmermeer-muzikaal-trio-harp-citer-l

Figure 2b: Calatrava, S. (c.). Lyre [Aquarelle]. Drie bruggen Hoofdvaart, Haarlemmermeer – Muzikaal trio : harp, citer, luit. Retrieved on October 6, 2022, from https:// researchportal.vub.be/nl/publications/drie-bruggen-hoofdvaarthaarlemmermeer-muzikaal-trio-harp-citer-l

Figure 2c: Calatrava, S. (c.). Lute [Aquarelle]. Drie bruggen Hoofdvaart, Haarlemmermeer – Muzikaal trio : harp, citer, luit. Retrieved on October 6, 2022, from https://researchportal.vub.be/nl/publications/drie-bruggen-hoofdvaarthaarlemmermeer-muzikaal-trio-harp-citer-l

Figure 3: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the position of three bridges over the Hoofdvaart [Diagram], own work.

Figure 4: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the two categories considered by the research question [Diagram], own work.

Figure 5: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the case study site as a polder with central canal [Diagram], own work.

Figure 6: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the three bridges seen in section [Diagram], own work.

Figure 7: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the theoretical principle of virtual space, media suits and virtual time applied to physical space [Diagram], own work.

Figure 8: Engelsma, S. (2022) Diagram comparing Ito and Bergson’s theoretical terminology [Diagram], own work.

Figure 9: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the proposed methodology [Diagram], own work.

Figure 10: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the three experimental themes [Diagram], own work.

Figure 11: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the physical routes traveled by Sharon along the Hoofdvaart [Diagram], own work.

Figure 12: Engelsma, S. (2022) Virtual Time v. Abstract Time mapped from the perspective of driving a car and riding the train [Diagram], own work.

Figure 13: Engelsma, S. (2022) Real Time v. Abstract Time mapped from the perspective of driving a car and walking [Diagram], own work.

Figure 14: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the physical routes traveled by Jonathan along the Hoofdvaart [Diagram], own work.

Figure 15: Kaye, J. (2022) Graph of bridge position in Virtual Space and Abstract Time [Drawing], own work.

Figure 16: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram comparing conceptions of virtual time and space [Drawing], own work.

Figure 17: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the physical routes traveled by Iris along the Hoofdvaart [Diagram], own work.

Figure 18: Hofstra, T. (2021, November 10) Calatravabrug Harp [Photography], Liefs uit HAARLEMMERMEER. Retrieved on November 1, 2022, from https:// liefsuithaarlemmermeer.nl/hoofddorp/calatravabruggen/

Figure 19: Hofstra, T. (2021, November 10) Calatravabrug Citer [Photography], Liefs uit HAARLEMMERMEER. Retrieved on November 1, 2022, from https:// liefsuithaarlemmermeer.nl/hoofddorp/calatravabruggen/

Figure 20: Hofstra, T. (2021, November 10) Calatravabrug Luit [Photography], Liefs uit HAARLEMMERMEER. Retrieved on November 1, 2022, from https:// liefsuithaarlemmermeer.nl/hoofddorp/calatravabruggen/

Figure 21: Kaye, J. (2022) Diagram of the three experimental themes and their conclusion [Diagram], own work.

APPENDIX

A – Sightseeing from the train

It was Sunday night, going back to my student apartment from my parents place up north. It was winter and cold, but luckily the trains didn’t have delays and I could relax and look out the window while the landscape was passing by. Because it was dark early, you couldn’t see much. Only some small lights from houses far away and traffic. It was a pleasure to look at and time was going fast like the train. In the distance, three big sculptures lit up. They were a statement, an icon in the dark valley surrounding it. While looking at them, time passed very slowly spontaneously and I enjoyed looking at them for the time being. Afterwards I needed to transfer the train to the next station and the bridges became a marking spot in time to remind myself to get out on the next stop.

Recordings by Sharon

B – Driving through the trees

Going to my boyfriend’s parents, my boyfriend and I were discussing the developments of our study courses. I told him that we were going to research the Calatrava bridges, but I had not seen pictures yet of the bridges or the landscape they lay in. He told me about his course, while it was dark and driving on the highway from The Hague to Haarlem. When we passed the sign of Nieuw-Vennep, I asked my boyfriend if we could see the bridges. While driving and looking at the busy road, I didn’t feel like I could see them, my surroundings and therefore time was moving very fast. But my boyfriend saw one and pointed it out to me. It was hard to see, because of all the tree’s standing next to the highway and covering the view on the bridge, but I could see it for a short moment. But I only saw one and kept looking for the next two. When I spotted the next one, I felt like time was very slow for a moment, so I could see how it was shining through the tree’s.

After that, I stopped looking, because the road was very busy and I needed to stay focused on the next highway exit. I felt sad that I couldn’t see the third one and also not seeing them together in the landscape.

C – Speed of driving along the road

As I drove from Nieuw-Vennep to Hoofddorp, the first bridge I encountered was the Harp. This bridge is perpendicular to the Hoofdvaart; it’s going over the Hoofdvaart in the direction of the highway. First I drove underneath the bridge, while driving along the Hoofdvaart. It was visible from afar, so it made the duration of the bridge feel long before reaching. Underneath it felt like this heavy wide bridge with lots of people around, walking and cycling. Afterwards, I drove over the bridge, where only cars were passing. The driving-stroke was small, so cars slowed down before me. As I drove over the bridge, I could count the steel-rods, which made time even slower than my driving speed.

The second bridge was the Citer, a bridge for bicycles and destination traffic. Normal traffic won’t go over the bridge, only underneath. The Citer was parallel to the Hoofdvaart, so my first experience was driving along the bridge. Because I needed to stop before traffic-light, I had a short time to experience the bridge, but I needed to pay more attention to the traffic surrounding it. When

driving underneath the bridge, to the traffic-lights, it was also a short experience. Due to its construction characteristics, being high and small, the feeling of the bridge’s present was very small and time went by fast.

The last bridge, the Luit, was a roundabout laying next to an intersection. This made driving over the roundabout quite intense; the focus as a driver was more on which lane I needed to have and not on the bridge. The traffic made it a short time-experience, where I figured that this bridge wasn’t supposed to be experienced as a driver, but walking.

D – Walking on the canal

After driving along the Hoofdvaart, I started walking back from Hoofddorp to Nieuw-Vennep. This meant that I first encountered the Luit, then the Citer and at last the Harp. The Harp was very far from the other two, so I drove the car back to walk up to the bridge. From the car, I started walking to the Luit and it was remarkable that there was no pathment along the Hoofdvaart; I walked on the bike-lane. So the connection from bridge to bridge was not possible for walkers.

On the Luit there was a small path for walking, but the space on the bridge was mainly meant for cars. While walking on the bridge, it was clear that the time spent on the roundabout was not meant to be very long in experience; it was only for going from one side to the other. On the other side of the Hoofdvaart was a path down, to go under the bridge. This led to a podium on which you could sit and enjoy silence. It was clearly meant for walkers to have a resting-spot or a place to gather. But I could only find one cigarette as garbage, suggesting that this space has not been used to its potential. This bridge was clearly meant for the slow speed, the walker, to enjoy. But without a clear path and direction, this function of the bridge is not well-used.

Walking up to the Citer, I needed to walk on the road and bike-lanes. It gave me the feeling to stay focused on my surroundings and couldn’t

enjoy the walk. While arriving at the bridge, it was clear to me that I couldn’t go over it. There was no safe crossing for walkers and only a bike-lane going to the bridge. I didn’t feel comfortable crossing and went back to the car. So the experience was actually non, it was meant to cross for bikers only. While driving under it, I spotted a stair on the other side of the bridge, ending into a grassfield with no connection to its surroundings. It looked like it was not useful for walkers and it made the connection at this speed impossible.

To walk up to the Harp, I needed to park the car in a neighborhood full with single houses and no spots for visitors. It was clearly meant for villagers to enjoy, but not for visitors. While walking up to the bridge, I came across a nice park along the bridge. This was very enjoyable and it felt like I spent a lot of time at the bridge. It was noticeable that there was a path going up to go walk over the bridge, but no one was using it. It felt very busy with all the cars on the bridge and there was more space under and next to the bridge to enjoy. So this bridge could be defined as a bridge used by cars, but the surroundings made it placent to be around as walkers, which was very different then the other bridges.