four proposals for the A8 viaduct in Zaanstad Holland

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A8 viaduct Zaanstad

Rijkswaterstaat (of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management) in The Netherlands, the city of Zaanstad and the Praktijkbureau of the Ministry of Culture initiated the realization of art in relation the Dutch national highway network. One of the first projects took place in Zaanstad. Three artists, Wim Korvinus, Piet Hein Stulemeyer and Lucien den Arend were selected to make proposals for art under the A8 / where, in the sixties of the twentieth century, this highway abruptly bisected the old town of Koog aan de Zaan, now part of Zaanstad.

The three artists encountered a dark and depressing area under the forty meters wide highway. Their job was to cope with this and introduce a new experience for the people who passed through this space.
Wim Korvinus made a plan to improve the location by introducing possibilities for people to sit, recreate and experience this space in a positive way.
Piet Hein Stulemeyer studied the structure of the viaduct and discovered that there is a slight bending along the span. He proposed to visualize this by mounting a laser projector, between two pylons, on the underside of the span - its laser beam drawing the vertical movement on the pylon when vehicles pas over the bridge.
Lucien den Arend illustrated his proposal with four variations for large sculptural constructions encapsulating the bridge, in this way he showed the process which guided him towards his final proposal.

With this first one he aimed to have the presence of the sculptural elements visualized for the travellers on the highway, crossing the bridge over the Zaan River. Here two three quarter circles constructed from twenty five centimeter diameter stainless steel pipes. They suggest arches over the highway on both sides of the river - the people who travel under the bridge rings which seem to enclose the highway. They would move in the wind, adding another dimension to its visual aspect.