Netherlands - Rotterdam's Delftse Poort II building

Delftse Poort is a building complex right across the street from the Millenium Tower. It is the tallest building of Rotterdam. This is the lower part of it, called Delftse Poort II. It has 25 floors and is 93m high. The tallest one is Delftse Poort I, standing at 151m high with 41 floors. It was completed in 1992 and houses the head office of a famous Dutch company. It is the highest office building of The Netherlands. The name originated from the old name the railway station used to have. It was build by Bonnema Architects.

Netherlands - Rotterdam's Millenium Tower

Probably my favorite skyscraper of Rotterdam, this is the 2nd tallest building of the city! It houses a hotel (first 15 floors) and offices. It is 149m tall (with the spire, 132 without it), has 34 floors and was completed in 2000 (of course!). It is situated opposite the Rotterdam Central Station and , seeing this right after getting out of the ugly station building (currently re-newed), I was floored. It was designed by Canadian architects Webb Zerafa Menkes Housden.

Netherlands - Den Haag skyline

Den Haag is a bit different than the rest of the cities in Holland, probably due to the presence of so many international organisations there, and of course, the royal family of Holland.
The buildings you can see here (their tops actually) are nicknamed by the locals tits & penis - go figure!

Netherlands - Van Gogh Museum - staircase

This is another interesting part of the Exhibition Wing of the Van Gogh Museum. Kurokawa’s wing has three levels, which are all used as exhibition space. The lowest is below ground, at the level of the enclosed pond. A slightly curved, suspended staircase leads up to the other floors. The lighting in the stairwell was designed by Georges Berne, who was also responsible for the lighting in the rest of the museum. This is a photo of the 2nd level.

Netherlands - Van Gogh Museum - Van Gogh & The Expressionist Exhibition Entrance

In the photo above you can see the entrance to the Van Gogh & The Expressionists exhibition. The use of the space, the materials (that orange background is actually carpet!) and lighting all combined, give an amazing welcome to the exhibition that unfolds after it. This exhibition, as all temporary ones, is housed in the Exhibition wing of the museum.
The Van Gogh Museum consists of two buildings: the main structure designed by Gerrit Rietveld and opened in 1973, and the Exhibition Wing by Kisho Kurokawa completed in 1999. Apart from these two architects, several others (like Martien Van Goor) have contributed to finishing, rebuilding or remodelling parts of both buildings.
The Exhibition Wing was designed by Kisho Kurokawa, a Japanese architect best known for his original designs for several Japanese museums and for Kuala Lumpur airport. His work is characterised by geometrical forms, such as cones, ellipses and squares, and a symbiosis between Eastern and Western principles in philosophy and architecture. His sober design fits perfectly with the existing building. Western geometry forms a symbiosis with Eastern asymmetry.

Netherlands - City Optiek shop window

Great shop design here. I love the look of both the shop window and the interior. Pity I did not have the time to go browse inside the shop. They use the design also for their website. Worth checking out!

Netherlands - Pathé de Munt cinema

The newest multiplex in Amsterdam, it has a very interesting facade, with the use of perspective and the brick cladding. And somehow, it did not look out of place near the flowermarket, although the best looking cinema in the city is the famous Tuschinski.

Netherlands - Amsterdam Historical Museum

The Amsterdam Historical Museum moved into the buildings of the former civil orphanage in 1975. The facades, the gates, the governors room and the boys and girls courtyards recall the days when this was a children's home. The first inner courtyard seen here had an amazing display made to look like windows looking out the courtyard, which gave a very unique look to it.

Netherlands - Interesting shop window

Starting here, I will be posting photos from my recent trips to The Netherlands and Belgium. I will post photos of things that are of interest to me in arts/design/architecture. Later I might also post other photos from the trips.

This is a shop window I first saw in Utrecht (photo is from Utrecht too) and later also in Amsterdam. I loved the use of the price labels as decoration and the overall styling and lighting is very theatrical. I do not know if they sell the actual outfits!!!

A favor to Neil Gaiman

This is for Neil, because he asked for it!

Penn Jilette