Space as a Resource: Bovenop Zuid

  

           The biggest resource the Netherlands uses is its unique perception of space. There is no area too big or too small for something useful to take place.  An example of this is the rooftop art installation on top of  Winkelcentrum Zuidplein, a large indoor mall.  Open for people to walk through the whole month of June, I got the opportunity to volunteer for them and learn more about this project. The floorplan of the mall is huge, leaving lots of open space unused on the roof. But what could that space be used for? Are rooftops the future of innovation?

            That's what the organizers think. One of the goals of this rooftop walk was to show people the possibilities of future cities if rooftops were taken into consideration as usable space. With the help of over 50 artists, the boxy structures on top of the mall were transformed into a collaborative art exhibit highlighting unity within diversity. A 950-meter-long yellow path leads people through this immersive exhibit. The location I was positioned in was at the top of a staircase, connecting various rooftops together. Some people took a break from the walking path and stopped to sit on the bench next to me which gave me the opportunity to learn more from them. One woman I talked to flat-out told me that she doesn't care about the art and was just excited to walk across rooftops. The art was the incentive for people to get onto the roof and see the possibilities that could shape their future. She obviously was incentivized by the roof itself.

This is the view from the rooftop.