A look at the cultural history

In July 2007 Crimson Architectural Historians completed a Cultural History Study of the Hofplein viaduct on commission to Hofbogen BV. In 2002 the viaduct was designated as a State Monument, which meant that, with Hofplein Station, it was protected from demolition by law. However, its status as a State Monument does not mean that no further development is possible. On the contrary, the viaduct offers sufficient opportunity for reuse while still showing respect for the monument. In this cultural history study, an insight was gained into which parts of the viaduct are so special and valuable that they must be preserved, and on the other hand it reports on where opportunities for development are to be found. In short, it designates the margins and preconditions with which the future transformation of the viaduct will have to comply. On completion, the document was presented to the Monuments Department (Rotterdam City Council) and the national Department of Archaeology, the Man-made Landscape and Monuments (RACM). Incidentally, the study emphatically does not include any urban planning analysis of the viaduct. This had previously been done very competently by the architectural historian Marinke Steenhuis and Daf Architects. In 2004 the De Lijn firm commissioned them to make a thorough historical urban planning analysis of the viaduct, focusing especially on the urban context of the line. The new study complements the analysis by Steenhuis and Daf by offering a description of the viaduct itself as an architectural object.


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A look at the cultural history News: * 2009 Rotterdam International Architecture Biennale * Blend & Contain.r at Hofplein Station * Wall of Fame at ‘De Punt’ with the Stars of the North * Vision for the Future of the Hofbogen * Trial Arches * Arch numbering * Perron Mozaique at the 11th Architectural Biennale in Venice * Perron Mozaique * English Summary	In July 2007 Crimson Architectural Historians completed a Cultural History Study of the Hofplein viaduct on commission to Hofbogen BV. In 2002 the viaduct was designated as a State Monument, which meant that, with Hofplein Station, it was protected from demolition by law. However, its status as a State Monument does not mean that no further development is possible. On the contrary, the viaduct offers sufficient opportunity for reuse while still showing respect for the monument. In this cultural history study, an insight was gained into which parts of the viaduct are so special and valuable that they must be preserved, and on the other hand it reports on where opportunities for development are to be found. In short, it designates the margins and preconditions with which the future transformation of the viaduct will have to comply. On completion, the document was presented to the Monuments Department (Rotterdam City Council) and the national Department of Archaeology, the Man-made Landscape and Monuments (RACM). Incidentally, the study emphatically does not include any urban planning analysis of the viaduct. This had previously been done very competently by the architectural historian Marinke Steenhuis and Daf Architects. In 2004 the De Lijn firm commissioned them to make a thorough historical urban planning analysis of the viaduct, focusing especially on the urban context of the line. The new study complements the analysis by Steenhuis and Daf by offering a description of the viaduct itself as an architectural object.