Grijsen Park & Straatdesign: Zuidwestoever in Amsterdam has been drastically renovated. Since October 2016 this place has been overhauled and now residents and other people can enjoy, relax and meet each other by this waterside. A part of this renovation was the new boulevard, part of the Sloterpark, which the development of the benches around existing trees, got extra attention. Grijsen was from the beginning involved, together with landscape architects Guido Hermans of the agency Stadsruimte and Caroline Elbers of the municipality Amsterdam. Together we designed the big benches of Zuidwestoever, who Grijsen also produced.
The design of the benches has been well thought through. When you look from the right angle, it just looks likes the bench flows into the water. The choice for straight lines with round edges forms a whole with the urban environment. The benches are constructed modular and has LED lightning. This gives Zuidwestoever an atmospheric feeling by night. ”Never before Grijsen made such a construction for a bench. But the Zuidwestoever project asked for a customized solution. Therefore, the benches have a modular design and the construction is so designed that it seems that wooden parts, as it were, to be hung on. This made it possible to make the whole benches by Grijsen and then transport to Amsterdam. There the bench was put into each other, like a logic puzzle. This makes that the benches look perfectly. The LED lighting that is created at the bottom of the banks, the evening makes for a pleasant atmosphere. Besides these benches, also the wide staircase to the water is, on several places, provided with wooden seating elements.
Design:Guido Hermans, Stadsruimte, Caroline Elbers, Amsterdam
Patrick Grijsen, Grijsen Park & Straatdesign in collaboration with Eric Kruisselbrink, Idenova.
Production of the benches:
Grijsen Park & Straatdesign
