FLASH FICTION
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PHOTO ESSAY
12.2022
The weather was the same as any other this autumn in Rotterdam. Air was damp, wind probably reached a new speed record, sky color matched his dark gray lining. But he enjoyed every bit of this disaster, it somehow fitted his brutalist personality. High almost like his ego, with his deep-set, masculine eyes he watched the other side of the river from the last floor condo. The view was deteriorating along with the distance. By his feet city Center was distinctive and glowing, further away Residential Buildings became more and more dull, less sublime, and unremarkable. When sight reached the Maas, everything seemed neglected. In the abandoned Harbor the last light just went off. He always exalted himself against them, although they were made of the same skin and bones.
By the stairs, he overheard the muffled voices from the conference room. There, developers continued a fierce discussion about new urban planning correction.
-We have to put it in better words, you know, something that won’t trigger this
kind of backlash. People are not used to this kind of change.
Everyone had known already for years that it is coming, but it didn’t excite anyone. Only Harbor anxiously waited for the plan announcement.
-Tell me something I don’t know. I hope they expected it could turn out this way. It’s about time for this place to go down, insurance here is higher than in medieval churches, the technical solutions might have been the best a century ago, but now this and the cost of keeping it up... There’s no point. Aren’t you cold now?
-Right…
- Our team found new investors, and you have seen the visuals already?
-Yes, with a cherry on top, I know.
- And the board will like it at the end of the day, I’m sure. When I told them the sustainable part they saw a gold mine.
A loud thud came out from the direction of the elevator shaft.
-That’s it, the decision is set. Call them.
The next week construction crew already started to set their stands. He broke down. Piece by piece, a majestic slab of concrete became part of the new environment. Welcoming, inclusive, and open. No one expected it would be him, in whose striking shadow covered the whole neighborhood. Him, who stood out from the rest with his masculinity and boldness. Him, built and inhabited by powerful men. Who survived that long and would not expect to fall behind his times, to be replaced by another icon of the new times.
By the stairs, he overheard the muffled voices from the conference room. There, developers continued a fierce discussion about new urban planning correction.
-We have to put it in better words, you know, something that won’t trigger this
kind of backlash. People are not used to this kind of change.
Everyone had known already for years that it is coming, but it didn’t excite anyone. Only Harbor anxiously waited for the plan announcement.
-Tell me something I don’t know. I hope they expected it could turn out this way. It’s about time for this place to go down, insurance here is higher than in medieval churches, the technical solutions might have been the best a century ago, but now this and the cost of keeping it up... There’s no point. Aren’t you cold now?
-Right…
- Our team found new investors, and you have seen the visuals already?
-Yes, with a cherry on top, I know.
- And the board will like it at the end of the day, I’m sure. When I told them the sustainable part they saw a gold mine.
A loud thud came out from the direction of the elevator shaft.
-That’s it, the decision is set. Call them.
The next week construction crew already started to set their stands. He broke down. Piece by piece, a majestic slab of concrete became part of the new environment. Welcoming, inclusive, and open. No one expected it would be him, in whose striking shadow covered the whole neighborhood. Him, who stood out from the rest with his masculinity and boldness. Him, built and inhabited by powerful men. Who survived that long and would not expect to fall behind his times, to be replaced by another icon of the new times.
Photo essay
Coat
Concrete façade of Blakeburg building, Rotterdam Blaak
Grandeur
Brutalist building Blakeburg, architect Jan Hoogstad, built 1977
Eyes
View on Blakeburg from Zwartehondstraat
Splendor
Christmas decorations of De Bijenkorf, Rotterdam Beurs
Nausea
Residential buildings along Schiedamsedijk, Roterdam Beurs
Outcast
Santos warehouse awaiting redevelopment, Rotterdam Katendrecht
Brut
View on Blakeburg from Molstraat
Noise
Unkept airshaft cover of Blakeburg building
Signature
Spray on concrete, 230x370cm, author unknown, Rotterdam Blaak
Distortion
Construction site of demolished bouilding, Witte de Withhof 18
Replay
Tower crane