Brandgrens
Landscape Architect: West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2007
Period: Post-Modernism - 'an effort to more directly engage popular culture and in reaction to the abstraction and minimalism of Modern Architecture [...] issues addressed by Post-Modernism include the structure of the traditional city and urbanism, semiotics, typology and the linguistic value of architectural signs' (Ideas of Order, 356)
Brandgrens uses light objects and information stations to permanently mark the areas of Rotterdam which were destroyed by the bombing and subsequent fires on May 14, 1940. Nearly all of the city center was destroyed in the 15 minutes of bombing. Incorporating the iconic image of a flame into the light objects creates public awareness of the history and location of the event within the context of the contemporary city. (http://www.west8.nl/projects/brandgrens/)
jazzy_fact: The Permanent Marking of the Brandgrens is a finalist in the 2010 Dutch Design Awards (DDA), chosen from over 700 projects; the project is also up for the Public Award, in which the public cast a vote for their favorite of six select finalists.
