The Journey So Far

Day 2 started in Amsterdam and visited Hilversum, Huizen, Almere and finished in Zwolle. Day 3 will take me to Maastricht at the southern tip of the country.

Day 2

Here is a selection of photos from day 2 in the towns of Hilversum and Almere.

Wind farm

The Netherlands are known for their windmills. Well instead of milling now they have turbines generating electricity. I had an interesting drive through a wind farm today. I thought that a typical wind farm might have 20-50 turbines. Well this one has at least 1000. They are huge when you drive right past them.

Borneo Sporenburg

If there is one thing the Dutch have figured out it is variety in contemporary housing. As I mentioned before, West 8 masterplanned the Borneo Sporenburg islands which were previously home to warehouses in Amsterdam's dock area. The proposal was to avoid tall housing complexes by compressing the idea of a house and making the most efficient use of the land available. West 8's design framework provided for 600 homes each with its own entrance to the street. Below you can see that some of the houses also have a water facing wall. Over 100 architects were involved and encouraged to bring diversity in design but working within a strict boundary - 5 metres wide, 18 metres deep and 12 metres high (16 x 60 x 40 feet). Some even incorporate parking in the small ground floor.
MVRDV managed to get a site at the end of the island that looks out over the water. I'm sure you've seen this house with a car parked on the ramp.

Almere

Well after a bright and sunny start to the day it has decided to rain. I think I'll sit it out and grab some lunch here in Almere. It's a very new town as it has really only existed from the mid seventies. Now it's full of contemporary homes.