Monthly Archives: October 2013

PANORAMA ‘MAESLANT’

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PANORAMA ‘MAESLANT’

Sketch design in relation to windfarm ‘Nieuwe Waterweg’ in Rotterdam.

The landscape of the Europoort, the Nieuwe Waterweg, the Maeslantkering and the windfarm is of such overwhelming splendour and robust beauty that I won’t even attempt to add anything ‘artistic’. This stunning landscape deserves its own stage, it might compel people to look at it differently, perhaps with more awareness. Because the turbine is so high, it offers the ultimate chance for a majestic panorama of the harbours of Rotterdam, the Maeslantkering, the Nieuwe Waterweg, the coastline, the Westland etcetera.

Panorama ‘Maeslant’ is not just supposed to be an aesthetic experience, it will also inform the public about the storing of fossil fuels in the depots of Europoort and the way in which this relates to sustainable energy production at the windfarm ‘De Nieuwe Waterweg’ and windfarms in general. It will try to inform about the energy consumption in the greenhouse area in the Westland and the way in which this energy demand relates to the proceeds of one windturbine. It will try to give some insight into the logistics of the harbour or Rotterdam and the function of the Maeslantkering.

Inspired by a vision of a panorama from the top a turbine, we suggest placing an HD video camera with a 180° fisheye lens on both sides of the mast. Live footage of the view will be sent directly to the harvesting field. Here, the images will be projected on a mini 360° panorama theatre. The visitor will be standing in the heart of the space and be completely engulfed in a Panorama ‘Maeslant’. The sound around the top of the mast will also be registered and played in the theatre.

Advice: PARKLAAN Landschapsarchitecten
Presentation sketch design: Octobre 2013

GROND-GELUID (GROUND-SOUND)

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GROND/GELUID (GROUND-SOUND)

GROUND-SOUND is a soundproofing piece of land art for Schiphol-Hoofddorp in collaboration with H+N+S Landschapsarchitecten, TNO and Witteveen and Bos. Commissioned by Schiphol Airport and Mainport and Groen.

‘The 18th century physicist Ernst Chladni scattered sand on a surface he afterwards made vibrate with a string bow. As soon as the strummed surface sounded a fundamental the sand jumped up and organised itself into a geometric pattern. The invisible fundamental became visible in the sand.’ At different locations around Schiphol, but mostly in the north of Hoofddorp, residents experience nuisance from the sound of planes that use their engines to full capacity on the starting lane. This low frequency sound is also known as ‘grond geluid’, ground sound.
Calculations and field measurements have shown that the ground sound can be reduced when ridges are constructed in the mowing fields. To realise the wanted noise reduction the area of Buitenschot also requires these ridges. This seems to contradict the idea of Buitenschot as a park, but the thought of a ripple of ridges as a metaphor for the scattering and ending of the ground noise offers us many chances for an exciting park landscape to get lost in and find shelter. Sightlines create smaller and bigger ‘rooms’ that can be used for sports or games, recreation, dog walking or even events.
Ground and sound are contradicting terms; it is mass versus energy, solid versus thin, static versus dynamic. It is these kinds of contradictions that, when put together, appeal to the imagination.
The ‘Luisterend Oor’ and the ‘Chladni-vijver’ are some of the art objects in the area that use the phenomena sound and waves as their theme.

You can find a booklet about this project HERE (English)
Installation October 2013