project09:Project

Revision as of 11:29, 28 June 2012

The skatepark inside the Kunstad has existed for 12 years, as a financially independant project and has been a co-initiator in starting the Kunstad and the culture that surrounds it at the NDSM.Their reach since 2005 has been more than 600,000 people worldwide and served 37,000 people just last year, saying much about its popularity in Amsterdam and outside.

They come unnoticed. They leave unnoticed. You can only see the mark they leave behind. The graffiti artist. The NDSM has become a space for subdued expression. The start of the artist community in itself started as a form of expression, a space for the unappreciated, but has become a community of introverts and closed doors. The graffiti artists and the skate-park users are the surviving entities from a bye-gone era. They form an open community, open to change.

The Skate-park at NDSM is the one space that attracts users in the age group of 15-25 years. Though the NDSM attracts this user group to its various festivals and other activities, the skate-park is the one activity that attracts youth groups on a daily basis, and in hundreds over the weekends. However, talks about demolition of the existing skate-park inside the Kunstad could effectively put an end to the influx of youth into the site. A petition to save the skatepark has been officially initiated by the 'Skatepark Amsterdam' and you can support it by signing up here [[1]].

The objective of the project is to provide public space for users of all demography, that responds to their need to relax and enjoy NDSM and its surrounding. Fighting the test of time and proving to be an interesting space, it serves to cater the needs of a society that easily finds things boring. Being adaptable is its method of coping with future needs and aspirations, and intelligence, to learn what it is required to be.

Located at entrance to the NDSM, it becomes a centre of attraction to the visitors and users of the site. Moving from the Ondina pavilion, users have an option to go over the landscape with demarcated walking paths, or an ant-trail under the landscape, each owing to a different kinds of experience. It also aims to provide shelter during rain or provide shelter for large groups attending various events at NDSM.

It architecturally connects existing context of corporate offices together, as well as the new projects adjacent to the urban landscape such as de Markt with the Ondina pavilion.

This is also a perfect opportunity for the commercial establishments to come together and add their share of vibrancy to the site. MTV and Redbull have always covered adventure sports either through their television or via advertising campaigns of such sponsored events. Such commercial establishments would invest in the venture, giving them rights to manage the space, for sports or other events, as well as production of television shows about art, culture and sports. The existing sponsors and media partners could also choose to invest in the new skate-park and BMX track. A climbing wall could be incorporated for young users and other climbing enthusiasts.