Shapes of Rotterdam

When winter of 2010 came by, and the hot days began cooling down, we sat by the window, my friend and I. I looked at the newspaper, my favorite hobby since I was little, and quickly skimmed through the magic in printed words.

That was the first time, as far as my tiny brain can recall, I was introduced to the beauty of shapes in buildings. I remember not the name of the artist, but the picture very well. It was the world trade center of Dubai, only in a perspective I never saw.

I showed it to my friend, wish I remembered the photographer's name, and he went to look him up on Instagram. I remember instagram being very new back then, and not many were on it. We did not find the photographer on instagram, but his photo made an everlasting impression on me.

This is a story from 2010, over 2 decades back. Oh, I'm old. Since then I have seldom looked at buildings, not that I get the chance to look at them from an interesting perspective. I have had a good time at exploring neoclassical architecture in Ukraine as well as some brutalism. But simply shapes, not so much.

This trip, this collection, this appreciation of shapes, symmetry, and beauty in asymmety is inspired from that photographer in 2010 who visited Dubai and took that one picture. It was so long ago, but I remember the picture very well.

This is the Rotterdam Train Station. The place that takes you into a city of everything but boredom. I almost missed the roof of the station. The beautiful steel structure, seemingly supported by only two points of contact is massive and gorgeous, marking the start of the various beautiful works in the city.

Right next to the station is the Delfste Poort building. Don't let the towers take you away from appreciating the dome at the entrance.

This twin tower used to be the tallest building in the Netherlands many many years ago. Oh, how old I feel.
The tower could probably disappear on a clear blue day.

The entire trip I could only think of chaotic neutral, to describe the architecture here. I'm not sure if all these structures were designed by the Dutch, but it is a lot different in style, yet same in boldness when it comes to Dutch architects and engineers.

I aimed to capture the beauty of the "chaotic neutral" in my pictures. I'm no photographer, no architect, no artist, only the beholder. In some way, I wanted to cherish the beauty my eyes saw. I am also a concrete jungle monkey, and in some ways, I miss being in a concrete jungle. Put all these together, light the fire that the photographer from 2010 had started, and you have me trying to find interesting perspectives.

Rotterdam is a wild mix of contemporary and traditional.
We are now walking towards my favorite part of Rotterdam that has more shapes than a bad LSD trip.
But the more I swivel my head, the more I see of both contemporary and traditional style working in harmony.

Glamorous buildings, that mark historical events, landmarks, or more, stand tall in glory. Some have turned into hotels, some into tourist attractions, but undeniably majestic.

Surrounded by irregular shapes and sizes, the strict, rigid, firm lines, shapes, speak for themselves. Which style is a relief to which? Hard to say.

The Witte Huis stands out like a protest against the rebellious style it is surrounded by. The building is, however, based on the American style and stands as a national heritage.

Right next to them, the same shapes but more courageous. As if time gave them the ability to be confident and more expressive.

Straight lines, but bent on an angle. Straight lines, but curved in the middle. Base colours, but wandering into more boldness and extroverted.

The shapes and buildings get crazier. Creating a beautiful asymmetrical symphony.

Exposed escape staircase, brightly colored and literally over the top vent pipes, standing loud and clear. It is gorgeous in itself.

So many opposing shapes in different sizes, running in opposing angles. It is just beautiful to me. There is hardly any symmetry, hardly any smoothness, it is as omnidirectional as your eyes make it to be.

There is just as much character in these buildings on the outside as there is on the inside. But the inside is more flexible, more open to conforming to opinions, takes less than a day to reform into a different style, and nothing like the outside structure.

As the sun started going down, the shapes got more interesting. The shadows started giving into the shapes. The buildings looked different, and felt different. No single building "faces" the same direction. Each shape has a different story to tell with the same two words - light and shadow.

It is impossible to talk about Rotterdam, shapes, and buildings, without mentioning the Cube Houses, the Blaakse Bos.

Blaak being the area name and Bos being the Dutch word for forest/jungle.
And I agree. It is some sorts of a jungle. Especially when walking under the cubes, it feels like walking in the shadows of tall banyan trees, with light escaping through the branches here and there, and scaling the uneven ground of the jungle. Except, everything is concrete.

It is beautiful, in an uncomfortable way. Giving full meaning to my chaotic neutral remark.

And last...

This is it!

Inspired by the photographer from 2010.
His shot was similar. It was a picture of a few floors of the Dubai WTC, the real WTC, not the one you see now. It was a concrete structure, with windows like holes in the fibers of a jean jacket - tight and close.

He stood on the bridge opposite the WTC, and had a parallel lens angle to the road below which made for a beautiful photo. I took this photo from the ground, not paralleled to the road, neither making it as tight as he did.

If I were to do anything in post, even fixing the angle, how would it be original? How would it reflect my unique and personal expression?

This is me, as raw as I come.

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