Rotterdam was the next stop on the Netherlands tour. The city was hit hard in WWII, and most of the buildings are post-1945. Architecture is one of the biggest reasons why people visit this city, and I was no exception.
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| Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam |
My hostel was in the Cube Houses, an urban village designed by Piet Blom in the late 1970s. The complex itself serves as a pedestrian bridge over a major traffic artery, and the architect was commissioned to "furnish" this bridge. Blom's idea was to create "a safe oasis where several functions could take place: small scale business, shops, a school and a children's playground downstairs, living in the cubehouses upstairs." This "village within a town" was an archetictural experiment- a mixed use development that provides various functions for the residents (housing, good views, access to products and services closeby) and for the members of the external community (the pedestrian bridge). Right up my alley!
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| Inside the Cube House |
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| Inside the Cube House |
Rotterdam's other HUGE claim to fame is it's port. Up until 2005, the
Port of Rotterdam was the biggest port in the entire world. It is the gateway to the European market and facilitates 430 million tons of cargo annually. The
Maritime Museum has an exhibition called Mainport Live- Feel the Rhythm of Rotterdam Port.
I had been spending so much time in cities that my eyes were starting to get used to all that concrete. That is not a good thing. Something green, please! I grabbed the daypack and headed (via Water taxi, very cool, highly recommended) to Kinderdijk, a Dutch village near to UNESCO-recognized windmills, preserved since the 1700s.
It is absolutely remarkable what the Dutch have done in regards to water management in their country. The land mass of the Netherlands is to a great degree artificial, and as the folks over at Lonely Planet report "The efforts of the Dutch to create new land- which basically equates to reclaiming it from the encroaching sea- are almost super human...In total, an astounding 20% of the country is reclaimed land." What were once tidal flats, estuaries and marshlands are now agricultural land. Windmills original purpose was to pump water to drain the land for this agriculture. The classic
polder scene (strips of farmland separated by canals) makes up 60% of the Netherlands landscape and Kinderdijk was a great example.
My hostel was in the Cube Houses, an urban village designed by Piet Blom in the late 1970s. The complex itself serves as a pedestrian bridge over a major traffic artery, and the architect was commissioned to "furnish" this bridge. Blom's idea was to create "a safe oasis where several functions could take place: small scale business, shops, a school and a children's playground downstairs, living in the cubehouses upstairs." This "village within a town" was an archetictural experiment- a mixed use development that provides various functions for the residents (housing, good views, access to products and services closeby) and for the members of the external community (the pedestrian bridge). Right up my alley!
How cool Katie! Be safe.
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