Our first year Landscape field trip took us overseas to Holland to visit it's dynamic capital- Rotterdam. This city is known for it's interesting and cutting edge architectural and landscape design. Having visited briefly the previous summer I was aware of some of the interesting features of the city, including the large site developed by West 8 in the heart of the city- the Schouwburgplein. This large site was developed over a new underground multi-storey car park in the heart of the city. The site features three oversized hydraulic moving light which dominate the site. These took influence from the port activities of the city. The site can appear slightly sparse, but is also capable of being a functional space for events.
The National Architecture Institute (NAI) is an interesting point of call for a trip around the city, also conveniently located close to the Museum Park, which contains an interesting landscaped area based on the ideas of fluvioglaciation. Attached the the NAI is the Sonnivald House, a perfectly preserved example of 1930's ultramodern house.
Wandering round the city is a very useful way to spend an afternoon, admiring some of the cities maritime past alongside some of the pioneering and groundbreaking modern developments such as the cube houses at Blaak.
A trip to the Euromast is a must for any visit to the city. The tower rises 101m, with an additional 85m lift carrying passengers to dizzy heights above the city. On a clear day vast views are afforded- unfortunately ours was not so, but the trip was none the less worthwhile.
Half way through the excursion the group took a valuable excursion to the Europort, the worlds largest containerport. This combined with a trip along the River Maas provided us with an excellent grounding into the citys past, and the strategic relationship with the port and shipping activities.
Our final day in featured a visit to The Hague, towards the coast of the country. This one time capital features a mix of old and new buildings, as the impact of World War II was less severe here. Finally the afternoon was spent visiting the waterfront site on which our following project would be based.
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