Best Of 2009

Just before heading to some New Year’s party here in Amsterdam, I would like to provide you with our ‘Best of 2009’. I’ve selected five articles we wrote last year which came up in my mind automatically when I prepared this text. Click on ‘Read more…’ to go to the entire posts. We wish you a Happy New Year in advance!


This Is Not Sim City

The financial crisis hits California hard. Take a look at these pictures taken in Rio Vista, and see what the recession does to real estate development. Read more…


The Dutch Landscape As A Supermarket

The Dutch landscape needs a functional restyling. Architecture office Van Bergen Kolpa and the researchers of Alterra propose to redesign a part of the landscape of the lowlands as a supermarket. Read more…


The IKEA Infiltration

A group of 130 artists, designers, architects, fashion designers and photographers from Hamburg fall victim to the planned expulsion from their workspace in the Frappant building in the district of Altona, in which IKEA intends to open a store shortly. In a reaction, a group of 50 of them decided to colonize the IKEA store in Hamburg-Moorfleet and turn a part of it into their new workplace. Read more…


Floating Camping

We should spend some of our time on this small floating island at Almere Beach. Actually this one is from the makers of the floating market and, of course, the world famous floating gardens. These Amsterdam-based ‘floating everything’ gurus are working on the concept of floating gardens since the late sixties. Read more…


The Urban Cursor

Danish designer Sebastian Campion created the Urban Cursor, a “GPS enabled object designed to facilitate social interaction and play in public space” consisting of one oversized 3D computer cursor that was placed on a square in Figueres. Passers-by were encouraged to move the artwork, play with it, and use it as a bench, and their efforts where mapped online. Read more…