Read Up-To-Date for the latest news
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GAME URBANISM |
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The Discovery of the Maasplein |
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GASTGASTGEBER |
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LIFE, the game |
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THE MAKING OF© |
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Establishment Parquette Game |
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Landmarks |
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Guanxi Game |
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The Essential Margin |
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VEENBREED |
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Canon of the Netherlands |
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Culture-based Planning |
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The making of |
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Nekkerzoom |
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An diesem Platz |
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Renewed Internet site Des Beemsters |
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Watertabels des Beemsters |
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Beemster courtyards |
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Landmarks |
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Breda North East |
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VEENBREED |
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The essential margin |
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Guanxi Game |
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Copper engraving |
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From night watch to night hunting |
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Quality team of the
Beemsters |
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Welcome Water World |
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Autonië Proposal for a meeting spot about the car in Transvaal,
Den Haag - November 2007 |
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Publication: The happy Crab presented |
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Harvest day concludes Case Study Krabbeplas |
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To do as if in Yearbook
of Architecture |
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Bureau des Beemsters has
started |
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Case-Study Krabbeplas |
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Tesameheid in Autonië |
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Column at farewell Mayor |
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Zsolnay-workshop
in Pécs Hungary |
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China
journey for Archprix international |
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The applied artist |
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Arnhem am Rhein |
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Final meeting Masterclass
Urban Planning Academy of Architecture Rotterdam |
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Article in Topos –
The international Review of Landscape Architecture and Urban design |
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article in Topos – magazine
of the Laboratorium for Spatial Planning of Wageningen University |
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Start final phase case
study Krabbeplas |
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presentation of the follow-up
of the development vision |
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a travelogue from China |
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Masterclass Rotterdam
Academy of Architecture and Urban Design |
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Construction Speelhoff
in Hilversum started |
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Elaboration of development
vision des Beemsters |
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Educational internet
site concerning cultural planology |
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In the search of new
use of the recreation area Midden-Delfland. |
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Organisation China-excursions
for Hunter Douglas/Archiprix |
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Round off with debate
and publication |
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newsletter |
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Prize ceremony Ginette Blom winner of competition Recreation Today 22 June 2005 – During the symposium Plannen met Verbeelding (‘Concepts of Imagination’), organized by the Kunst en Vormgeving Noord-Holland (‘Art and Design foundation of North-Holland’) and the Provincie Noord-Holland on June 22, the presentation of prizes of the competition Recreation Today took place. The jury and the audience chose designer Ginette Blom with her plan GAMBA! as the first prize winner. Her concept is praised for the recreation possibilities for both adults and children: ‘GAMBA! shows activity and will positively influence the redesign of the area. More information: http://www.kunstenvormgeving.org/ (more) Juryrapport Recreatie Actueel (only in Dutch, pdf 60 KB) |
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article More then inspiration The artist’s role in culture-based planning projects May 2005 – Article in in k.i.p, magazine Visual Arts and Design of province of North-Holland. Policymakers plead for an important role of culture under which art within the spatial planning of the Netherlands. Is it possible for artists to contribute to this complex process in a meaningful way? With examples of more and less successful projects, Bureau Venhuizen draws the position of artists in the proces of spatial planning. Download More then inspiration (only in Dutch, pdf 28 KB) |
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project Typically Beemster May 2005 – On behalf of the municipality of Beemster, the Milieufederatie environmental group, and the province of Noord-Holland, Bureau Venhuizen is working on a method that will define the character of the Beemster area. The findings will help in generating widespread support for agreements concerning the process of physical development in the Beemster area. The project’s objective is to seek an optimal balance between promoting an economically healthy community and developing a unique cultural-historical identity. The need to address this issue has been apparent since the Beemster area acquired the status of World Heritage Site. Bureau Venhuizen will carry out the process with a team of experts, researchers, and designers from May to December 2005. (more) |
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lecture Alles wird gut 7 May 2005 – During the project Urban Art Stories on and around Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, Hans Venhuizen will give a lecture entitled 'Alles wird gut' on authenticity: from new urbanism via vanilla curds to the Berlin phenomenon of the strolling sausage-seller. |
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advice Recreation Today May 2005 – The competition brief Recreatie Actueel (‘Recreation Today’) deals with the culture of recreation. Recreation is affected by trends. What was popular a year ago is now dismissed as uninteresting. In redeveloping an existing recreation area, you can ask yourself what are the current and future recreation needs and how these could influence the redesign of the area. The brief is to answer these questions with a plan of approach for the Geestmerambacht recreation area. A jury of experts will assess the submissions and the best proposal will win €1000. The competition is being staged in the run-up to the symposium on Culture-Based Planning, to be held on June 22, 2005, in Haarlem. The prize-winner will be announced at that event. This competition has been developed by Bureau Venhuizen on behalf of Kunst en Vormgeving Noord-Holland. More information: http://www.kunstenvormgeving.org/ (more) |
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animations Kunst in Meerstad May 2005 – As part of a presentation for Kunst in Meerstad in Groningen, Brenno Visser has produced five animations of projects by Bureau Venhuizen and submissions to the Amphibious Living competition. Animations: The Fifth Wheel competition submission from Krijn Giezen / Villa Horizon project / Parquette landscape project / Amphibious Living result of Barendrecht implementation team / Wetland competition winner MG Architecten |
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lecture Seminar: The next 100 years. Future of housing. Budapest (Hungary) April 4, 2005 – The occasion for this seminar on architecture, housing construction and planning in Budapest was the photographic exhibition about a century of Dutch housing legislation. This exhibition was created in 2001 and since then has toured various countries in former Eastern Europe, on each occasion accompanied by a symposium about residential construction in the country concerned. The Roeleveld-Sikkens architecture bureau, which also has an office in Budapest, organized the seminar for the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM). Hans Venhuizen was invited as a speaker. On the basis of a number of historical and modern-day examples, Hans Venhuizen discussed cultural continuity in the built environment. He argued that culture is a factor that can manifest itself during all phases of the planning process and is therefore not something that you append or invent later on. |
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project BULB An education project on culture-based planning March 2005 – For an assignment from the Erfgoedhuis Zuid-Holland (Heritage Centre for South Holland), Bureau Venhuizen developed a website for young people about culture-based planning in the Dune and Flowerbulb Region, in association with designers and education experts. The aim of BULB is to raise the awareness of students at secondary schools about the role that cultural history and contemporary culture can play in the planning of the built environment and the cultural landscape. The website has a layered structure of ‘Looking – Learning – Doing’, which coincides with the way in which culture-based planning is embedded in the project Soul and Soil. |
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foundations L,v and L,b Foundations Disbanded March 2005 – Founded in 1992 by Hans Venhuizen, Marcel Smink and Frank Hemeltjen, the Locus, velocitas (L,v) foundation was disbanded in March 2005. The foundation was active between 1992 and 1999 in the development of a range of activities, from exhibition projects to creating an alternative for BK-Informatie, an information source for the visual arts, and from a proposal for an event about death and life to a business centre, for which the L,b (Locus, bouricius) foundation was specifically set up. (more) |
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project No WAPLA for Leidsche Rijn January 2005 – Despite the enthusiasm for the designs for the carwash facilities shown by the client and representatives of carwash businesses, the Leidsche Rijn project bureau has not succeeded in finding businesses that can realize and operate the carwashes on the desired scale at the prospective locations. The Wapla designs were warmly welcomed by a number of potential licensees, but the business risk was still considered too great in the chosen set-up. (more) |
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design commission De Speelhoff: Dudok for Beginners Proposal for a children’s playground at the Van ’t Hoffplein in Hilversum January 2005 – A large-scale urban renewal plan will be realized in Hilversum Oost, the eastern section of Hilversum, over the coming years. The objective is to preserve the typical style and character of the district, designed by the former municipal architect Dudok. Besides housing, the public space will undergo a thorough revamp. As part of the renovation of the Van ’t Hoffplein, the Municipality of Hilversum invited the artist Hans Venhuizen to share his thoughts and ideas about plans for the layout of the public garden and the relocation of the playground that currently stands there. Venhuizen has a developed a concept for a collective children’s playground based on the floor plans of the original Dudok dwellings. This preserves an essential aspect of the original quality of the neighbourhood at an unexpected spot. (more) |
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publication Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil): the book December 2004 - The book ‘Geest en Grond, culturele planologie in de Duin- en Bollenstreek’ presents the results of two years of discussion and thought, observation, learning and designing for the Dune and Flowerbulb Region with the deployment of cultural history in spatial developments as the guiding principle. This handsome Dutch-language publication produced by Bureau Venhuizen in association with the Erfgoedhuis Zuid-Holland (Heritage Centre for South Holland). It can be ordered for € 29.50 via desk@bureauvenhuizen.com and is available at better regional and national bookstores. ISBN 90-808898-1-4 |
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symposium Final Symposium for Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil) December 9, 2004 – What are the chances for a Mecca for senior citizens in Warmond, a design for a new ruin in Voorhout, new business complexes that beautify the landscape in Noordwijkerhout, and Spartan lodgings in an old flowerbulb shed in Lisse. These themes and others were on the agenda at the final symposium of Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil), which presented the results of two years of research into the integration of cultural history for spatial development in the Dune and Flowerbulb Region. Design proposals were presented along with a commentary from ‘project watchers’. The presentation was followed by a round-table discussion chaired by Bert van Meggelen with Dirk Sijmons, Jan van Grunsven, Marcel Vissers, Marc Witteman and other experts from the region. (www.geest-en-grond.nl > implementation) |
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presentation Conference on Space 2004 in Cruise Terminal Rotterdam October 26, 2004 – The goals of the Ruimtelijk Planbureau (the Netherlands Institute for Spatial Research), organizer of the Ruimteconferentie (‘Conference on Space’), include exploring and highlighting spatially relevant social trends. The Conference on Space tackles a whole range of space-related themes which are presented in workshops and discussed. Hans Venhuizen gave a talk on the basis of Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil) about the role that cultural-historical qualities could play in counteracting undesirable spatial developments in the Dune and Flowerbulb Region. He presented The Making of of methodology. Devised by Bureau Venhuizen, this methodology is a game that functions as a generator of ideas, inspiring participants to come up with innovative plans for spatial planning issues. Using ‘The making of’ involves all concerned parties, local residents, administrators and designers in the planning process from the very start and on an equal footing. |
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research project Heemskerk: Wo ist der Bahnhof? Apparent coincidences around Heemskerk station November 2004 – Finding Heemskerk railway station still seems to present a problem for people from outside the area. The station stands at the end of a broad local access road that leads to a dead-end, far from the village core and the last bus stop, hidden behind a supermarket. Though this station enjoys excellent and direct connections to and from Haarlem and Amsterdam, it does not exude this status and the opportunities it presents remain unexploited. For example, the possibility of linking up the station with the new residential development of Broekpolder, which is being constructed right next to the railway line and where 8,000 potential train passengers will live. For a commission from the Broekpolder Advisory Committee for the Visual Arts, Bureau Venhuizen investigated the reasons for Heemskerk station’s current status and encountered a series of apparent coincidences. (more) |
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project The Limes The future of history October 2004 – How might the Romans and Batavians be of help with today’s spatial planning issues? This question was central to the project ‘The Limes: the future of history’, for which Bureau Venhuizen devised an action plan for the Netherlands Architecture Fund and the Belvedere Project Bureau. The aim of this project is the translation of cultural-historical qualities in general and those of The Limes in particular into present-day spatial planning tasks, such as a design for the Over-Betuwe Landscape Park. The possibilities presented by this translation are being researched at various levels by artists, researchers, experts and designers through to October 2005. (more) |
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project Cancellation of ‘Squaresaver’ September 2004 - For the ambitious ‘Squaresaver’ design, which required a screensaver for the new marketplace in the city borough of Amsterdam Zuidoost, the technology proved to be insufficiently reliable to install it on such a large scale. Because construction of the square was accelerated in 2004, the Squaresaver project had to be abandoned. |
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presentation Presentation of Implementation Projects September 2004 – The results of the implementation projects for Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil) were presented by the designers at a public event for administrators, experts, the parties involved, residents and other interested parties. Following the presentations there was a discussion about the plans between the design team and the attendees. |
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The Desired Landscape: beautifying the
landscape with new flowerbulb sheds September 21, 2004 - Three design teams came up with solutions to promote economic growth in the Dune and Flowerbulb Region, while retaining the diminutive scale and an open landscape. Artgineering proposed the vital combination of flowerbulb cultivation and tourism should in future be complemented by the creation of land using excess silt from waterways. Twan Jütte’s design for a half-submerged flowerbulb shed creates a realistic alternative in an open landscape. The Copy_Paste design team developed a ‘nodes strategy’ for the expansion of the industrial terrain on the Delfweg in order to preserve the cultural-historical qualities of the flowerbulb landscape. (www.geest-en-grond.nl > implemantation) |
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New Heritage: cultural history in a newly
built neighbourhood? September 2, 2004 - In association with the Municipality of Voorhout, the design team carried a study into the perception and potential application of cultural-historical qualities in the design of a future residential area. Using the discovered cultural-historical qualities such as the ribbon of farmhouses, the polder landscape, flowerbulb cultivation and the millrace, a number of proposals were elaborated further. (www.geest-en-grond.nl > implementation) |
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New Heritage: can cultural history create
space for Warmond? September 2, 2004 - The Municipality of Warmond cannot expand: the red-line zoning and the ‘kerosene contour’ around Amsterdam Airport Schiphol set out in the new Nota Ruimte (‘National Spatial Strategy’) allow no space at all for new construction. What might cultural-historical qualities mean for breaking through this impasse? Can threats such as an aging population and sprawl be marshalled as opportunities for a new spatial strategy? And what are the possibilities for the old village heart? The design team translated various cultural-historical and contemporary qualities into a quartet of possible strategies to ensure a ‘vital’ Warmond in the future. (www.geest-en-grond.nl > implementation) |
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Bulb & Breakfast: Old flowerbulb
sheds, new tourism August 31, 2004 – How can Bulb & Breakfast best make its mark on the tourist map of the region? Are lodging facilities themselves sufficient or should they be marketed as a ‘cultural event’ combined with music, art or recreation in the region? In the proposals, attention was given to ideas that included a link with long-distance paths, a design for a flexible and multifunctional space, and a marketing strategy with a logo and merchandising, for example picnic rugs with the map of the flowerbulb region in order to raise the project’s profile and make it commercially interesting for the owners of flowerbulb sheds. (www.geest-en-grond.nl > implementation) |
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workshop Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim (Norway) September 2004 – On the invitation of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Hans Venhuizen led a workshop on concept development with fourth-year students of Urban Design and Planning. The starting point was filling in a matrix of tasks and phenomena during an expedition along the Norwegian coast near Trondheim. The students were studying the area and collecting as much information as possible about social, economic, spatial and political developments in the area. Key data were then transformed into tasks (what to do) and phenomena (what plays a role). The matrix provides the basis for the concept phase: specific combinations can lead to novel insights and surprising finds from which (spatial) concepts can arise. |
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lecture Het Groene Woud (The Green Woods), Boxtel (the Netherlands) September 8, 2004 - In spring 2004, ‘Het Groene Woud’ (‘The Green Woods’), a collection of nature areas and unique cultural landscapes within the triangle formed by the cities of Den Bosch, Tilburg and Eindhoven was designated as a ‘National Landscape’ by Dutch central government. During the symposium, which ‘celebrated’ the granting of this status, Hans Venhuizen talked about the cultural dimension of spatial planning. Venhuizen emphasized the enormity of the cultural act that is represented by the desire and the actual act, over the centuries, of structurally allowing land to ‘revert to nature’ – land that was brought under cultivation thanks to considerable effort, even if it is known as ‘nature’. (more) |
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article Tracking context and phenomena The cultural dimension as the driver of spatial planning April 2004 - Article in S&RO (4/2004): Anne Luijten and Denise Vrolijk in conversation with Hans Venhuizen about authenticity, the eye of the artist, imagination, and the process by which content is created. (more) |
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workshop Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil): Winners at Work in the Dune and Flowerbulb Region June/July 2004 - Does cultural history provide impulses for future developments in the Dune and Flowerbulb Region? Will old flowerbulb sheds become new cabins for hikers in a Europe-wide network of accommodations for long-distance walkers? Can the use of excess silt help preserve the open landscape and stimulate new tourism-related opportunities? What does cultural history actually mean to the local residents and how can the region’s contemporary culture be involved in future developments? During the workshops, designers and architects worked on the winning plans from the competitions together with various experts, elaborating them for a number of actual locations in the Dune and Flowerbulb Region. (www.geest-en-grond.nl > implementation) |
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festivities New Office Opens June 11, 2004 - Since June 2004, Bureau Venhuizen has been based in the Van Nelle Factory, in the section where the engineering workshop used to be. The Van Nelle Factory was built between 1925 and 1931 to a design by the architects J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt. With regard to the history of architecture, the factory complex is unique. The client and the architects wanted the building to give the phenomenon of factories an ‘attractive’ and undiluted character. The organization and layout of the buildings was intended to contribute to a new work ethic. The building is also considered a textbook example of architecture in the Nieuwe Zakelijkheid (‘New Objectivity’) style, the Dutch take on functionalism. (contact) |
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study trip Alles wird gut Study Trip to Central and Eastern Europe 200 May 2004 - In April and May 2004, artists, writers, journalists and architects, including Hans Venhuizen, took part in a study trip through Central and Eastern Europe. For the essay bundle inspired by the trip, Ideals in Concrete, Hans Venhuizen wrote the article ‘Alles wird gut’, in which he outlines the attitude adopted by many city governments in former East Germany with regard to the exodus from their cities. Instead of beginning from the situation as it stands and seeking out realistic possibilities for development within this, the cities attempt to turn the tide with ‘Alles wird gut’ – future predictions that are based on speculative assumptions. (more) |
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festivities Prize Presentation for Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil) April 2004 – On Friday, April 2, the chairman of the jury, Bert van Meggelen, announced the prize-winners from the final round of the three competitions: Bulb & Breakfast, The Desired Landscape and New Heritage. The prizes were presented by Mr. M. Houtman, chairman of the Erfgoedhuis Zuid-Holland (Heritage Centre for South Holland) and Mr. M. Witteman, chairman of the Pact of Teylingen Steering Committee. The international ideas competition for Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil) resulted in 123 innovative proposals, of which 27 were submitted from abroad. Plans from the Randstad to the region itself and from Milan to Buenos Aires were honoured with prizes. (www.geest-en-grond.nl > competition) |
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publication Bureau Venhuizen December 2003 – The Bureau Venhuizen brochure presents the bureau’s methodology on the basis of three projects: Amphibious Living, The making of Mheenpark and Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil). The English-language brochure can be downloaded here (Bureau Venhuizen, pdf file 450 KB) or ordered via desk@bureauvenhuizen.com. |
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publicatie The making of Mheenpark November 2003 – In the publication The making of Mheenpark there is a report on the open planning process that Bureau Venhuizen devised and facilitated for the transformation of Mheenpark. The game ‘The making of’, which involves local residents in the spatial planning process, was applied to decide the preconditions for the transformation. The results of the comprehensive invent, the various rounds of the game and the provisional design are summarized in the brochure. The brochure can be downloaded (The making of Mheenpark, pdf 1,7 MB) or ordered via desk@bureauvenhuizen.com. |
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project Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil) Culture-based planning in the Dune and Flowerbulb Region January 2003 - December 2004 - In Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil), Bureau Venhuizen investigated the role that cultural history can play in the future spatial layout of the Dune and Flowerbulb Region from 2002 through to 2004. In answer to a commission from the Erfgoedhuis Zuid-Holland (Heritage Centre for South Holland), Bureau Venhuizen developed a process for Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil) that consisted of three phases: inventory, competition and implementation. An inventory was drawn up of the themes that are relevant in the Dune and Flowerbulb Region, and especially the spatial impact these have, or might have. The competition briefs were distilled from this material, and architects, designers, artists and local, hands-on experts were welcome to participate. During the implementation phase, and in collaboration with three local municipalities, the best proposals were elaborated by designers for specific locations in the region. You can read more about the Geest en Grond (Soul and Soil) project at www.geest-en-grond.nl and in the Dutch-language publication Geest en Grond, culturele planologie in de Duin- en Bollenstreek. |
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project WAPLA The art of car washing Artists design car-wash facilities for Leidsche Rijn September 2003 – On the initiative of BEYOND (the multi-year art project in Leidsche Rijn), eight artists, architects and designers worked on the design of car-wash facilities for Leidsche Rijn. Residents are not allowed to wash their cars on the street, because of the environmentally friendly water system, and must use special car-wash facilities instead. The designs were bundled in a catalogue. Candidate franchisers could submit a bid to manage a Wapla facility by public tender, and had to choose a design from the catalogue. At the end of April it will be decided which design will be used. Bureau Venhuizen is responsible for the concept management in this process. (more) |
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project The making of ©Bureau Venhuizen 2001 April 2003 - The game methodology ‘The making of’ was used in 2003 for the transformation of the Mheenpark in Apeldoorn. The game, which is played by 50 local residents of all ages, was an important step in establishing the criteria for the park’s redesign. The results of a comprehensive inventory and the various rounds of the game served as input for the design brief for the municipal designers. Starting in 2005, the design will be realized in phases. (more) |
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project Squaresaver An ambitious square in Amsterdam Zuidoost November 2002 - The Squaresaver project by Bureau Venhuizen for the future Anton de Komplein in the Borough of Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam, is currently under development. In March 2002, there was a follow-up to the proposal in the form of a commission for a draft design. A project team is currently working on the realization of the design, a process that depends on existing and innovative technological possibilities. An interesting development in this regard is the possibility of using a computer to remotely control the blocks with LEDs. This could mean massive cost reductions, as it would leave existing underground infrastructure undisturbed and maintenance could be carried out at ground level. (more) |