A fine Dutch tradition, squatting, has recently been outlawed. In Amsterdam alone 200 squatted buildings will be cleared starting from October 1
It is interesting that this mass evacuation will take place at the same time the Dutch pavilion on the Biennale exhibits 4326 public buildings that are all empty…
One of the spatial problems of the Netherlands is that a continuous wall of office buildings and warehouses now flanks the freeways, a thin crust of buildings envelopes the arteries, everyone wants to be front row, the view from the road is blocked; the country appears constipated in more than one way.
But the A2 highway between Utrecht and Amsterdam has recently been reopened, it is now more than five lanes wide. The new road feels spacious, open: a square…
Traffic jams have been reported but they were wider than they were long.
Perhaps if highways become broad enough we can forget the view into the country side, the road will ‘contain’ enough space by itself.
NL Architects Blog 