Friday, December 9, 2011

Stadium Feyenoord Rotterdam: A Monument of Functionalist Architecture

Currently I am working on a research on the Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. People form Rotterdam use to call it "de Kuip". I many respects I should be considered as one of the most important remains of the functionalist movement. The building is designed by Brinkman and Van der Vlugt, who also designed the famous Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam. The building was completed in 1936, a few months after the early death of Leendert van der Vlugt. Unfortuanally the building nowadays does not show its groundbreaking features anymore, especially from the outer facade lost its modernist transparency and lightness. Important features of the building: The free-floating second ring without supporting columns at the end. The main construction on the outside, completely visible. Emphasized are the 22 staircase because the movement of the crowd had to be shown; the building is a machine. And off course, the industrial apparance is also a reference to the cranes and ships in the harbors of Rotterdam.
The pictures here below all come from the Dutch magazine Bouwkundig Weekblad, published in 1936.






Queen Europe

Recently I visited Prague where I found in one of the museums this interesting representation of Europe, depicted as a queen. I shows Bohemia, Prague as the very heart of Europe, Portugal as the crown and Spain as the face. The right hand holds a orb, symbolizing the domination over the world, probably by the Catholic Church. Sadly enough, my poor little country The Netherlands is not even mentioned on the map.
If you want to know more about this map, check out the very interesting information on wikipedia.org.
It would be interesting if someone would draw such representation of contemporary Europe in its current crisis.