The 7th Anniversary of the UrbanPhotoCollective at Naval Air Base Valkenburg.
Theme of the Event "Sky High". Models Session.
UPC 7th Anniversary in Black and White Series.
Maasvlakte/2 "Steel Objects from the past"
Discovering the Rotterdam Post Building (Not Completed).
The Abandoned Rotterdam Post Office Building.
The massive reconstruction of the Coolsingel started with the attenuation of the Coolvest and the demolition of the entertainment district around the Rodezand street. With the construction of several large buildings, successively the post office and the stock exchange, the Coolsingel got the allure of a city boulevard.
The new main post office was three times the size of the building on the North Blaak that it replaced. The old post office was in service from 1875 to 1923 and was demolished in 1929. Almost simultaneously with the design competition for the town hall, the first design sketches for the new main post office were drawn. Due to shortage of materials and the First World War building started in September 1915 but was not finished until April 1923.
The German style neoclassical building has a facade of Muschel Limestone with high vertical windows, covered with a mansard roof. The entrance has a projecting central section. The facade is decorated with sculptures of Joop van Lunteren, which symbolise postal, telegraph and telephone services. As sombre and massive as the exterior so light and spectacular is the interior of the central hall. The hall is 22.50 meters high and covered with large parabolic concrete beams, between which glass and concrete cassettes were made.
The main post office was decommissioned in August 2007 and sold to three project development companies. In 2008, they issued a multiple assignment under four architects for the building to be transformed into a shopping centre extending to hotel subject to the monumental status of the building. Ben van Berkel of UN Studio was the winner. Since then, the plans for Post Rotterdam have been adjusted, a seventy meters high hotel tower will be considerably lower.
Radio Kootwijk is een voormalig zenderpark dat in de eerste helft van de 20ste eeuw een belangrijke communicatieverbinding vormde tussen Nederland en zijn toenmalige koloniën, met name Nederlands-Indië. Het werd gebouwd vanaf 1918. Ook werden er voor werknemers woningen gebouwd, die samen het gelijknamige dorp gingen vormen.