Overview
wind sword
Client
Haarlemmermeer Municipality
Assignment
Art object for Hoofddorp, near Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Design
How do you make a new city district stand out in a flat polder landscape? In a location where many people leave the city by car in the morning, only to return in the evening?
Three elements served as the basis for the art object:
- The wind, because it is a wide-open area.
- The vertical element, to counterbalance the horizontal landscape.
- The history, because the area used to be a large lake, where in 1573 Dutch ships fought in a naval battle against the Spanish fleet.
The weather vane is an imposing beacon, 33 metres high, that rises from the waves above the landscape like a moving mast, like an illuminated Star Wars lightsaber. But it also serves as a meteorological device that indicates the wind’s force and direction.
The object makes the entrance to the new district in Hoofddorp a surprising spot. The weather vane moves playfully in the wind and intrigues with ever-changing angles. At night, it’s a beacon that guides us home like a lighthouse.
