The Netherlands is amazing! I just had to throw that out there. And aside from everything closing too early and no one really eating out at night, it was definitely one of the coolest places that I have traveled too.
That being said, I don't think there is any possible way for me to do my normal go through each day and tell what I did, because I took over 800 photos. I won't make you look at them all, that might take forever. You can just ask to see the rest in person at a later date. :)
While we were in The Netherlands, namely the regions of North Holland, South Holland, and Utrecht, we saw so many amazing buildings! The whole country seems to care so much about architecture!
We went to the Cities of Zaandam, Amsterdam, Almere, Den Haag, Rotterdam, Hilversum, Utrecht, and Delft and here is what we saw....
 |
| Windmills in Zaandam |
 |
| Inside the windmill. This one was used to crush peanuts to make peanut oil. |
 |
| Thatched siding |
 |
| Inside of another windmill...this one was for lumber. |
 |
| Crazy cool saw |
 |
| New crazy looking hotel in Zaandam |
 |
| We toured the inside, here is a lofted room |
 |
| Just a normal bridge in Amsterdam....right? |
 |
| Nope! Almost every bridge in the netherlands is a drawbridge, here is one in action, so cool. |
 |
| Building by Steven Holl (copper skin) |
 |
| Fun Park Residences |
 |
| Plan of the complex |
 |
| The dutch flowers were beginning to bloom while we were there |
 |
| Residence with a "green" roof |
What made these residences so special, was that one side was no more than 20 yards from the train tracks. So in order to reduce the noise, the architects created a colorful glass curtain wall on the exterior to block the noise. A lot of people live here with no complaints, so I guess it is working.
 |
| Glass curtain wall with residence windows behind |
 |
| Residences in Amsterdam |
 |
| Houses with interesting staircases at the entrance |
 |
| Connected residences all designed by different architects |
 |
| Another set of residences |
 |
| Footbridge that crosses the canal |
 |
| Residences referred to as "The Whale" designed by MVRDV |
 |
| Inner courtyard that isn't open for use... |
This next town, Almere, had an amazing story. Just 50 years ago the land that it occupies was under water (North Sea). When the government decided they wanted to use that land for agriculture, they built a system of dykes and drained the water out. However, they had to wait a few years for the soil to desalinate, and once it had, it was agreed that because of the growth of Amsterdam, a town would be built instead....I don't know, I thought it was really cool...haha
 |
| La Defense Offices in Almere designed by UN Studio |
 |
| Interior walkways (yes, that is the real color) |
 |
| Amazing colors |
 |
Almere Town Center designed by Rem Koolhaas
|
The interesting part of the town center was that one one level was the street, with shops and other commercial areas and on the roofs of those were houses and green space. We went on the balcony of one of the stores to check it out, really awesome.
 |
| Residences and green space above the shops |
 |
| The street below |
 |
| Bijlmer Station in Amsterdam designed by Grimshaw-Architects |
 |
| Student pod housing at Utrecht University |
 |
| Outdoor hallway |
 |
| Utrecht University library designed by Wiel Arets |
 |
| Main atrium |
 |
| Countertops along with soft furniture were designed to be red |
 |
| Glass curtain wall |
 |
| Utrecht University Minnaert Building interior nooks |
 |
| There were so many bikes and bikers everywhere |
 |
| Schroder House in Utrecht |
 |
| Utrecht City hall (note the cool benches in front) |
 |
| Amsterdam Flower Market |
 |
| Oldest building in Amsterdam (made of wood) |
 |
| First interior park of Amsterdam |
 |
| Iamsterdam sculpture! |
We also went to Den Haag, as mentioned before, which is the political capitol of The Netherlands....
 |
| Den Haag City Hall designed by Richard Meier |
 |
| Interior atrium (11 stories tall) |
 |
| Metal netting that surrounded the walkways |
 |
| Metro station in Den Haag designed by Rem Koolhaas |
 |
| It had wood floors! |
 |
| Very cool lighting... |
 |
| Shopping district of Den Haag |
 |
| The former Royal Palace |
 |
| Graffiti/Art in Rotterdam |
 |
| Aula Building at the Technical University (TU) in Delft |
 |
| Elevator in the main atrium |
 |
| Crazy concrete structure |
 |
| Library TU Delft designed by Mecanoo |
 |
| Two of the facades |
 |
| Interior view |
 |
| Interior view of what I like to call the cone of silence haha |
Ok, so I have to say, that if this school wasn't a million miles away from home (in The Netherlands) and there was more to do in the town, I would definitely go here for Graduate School. The facilities are AMAZING...
 |
| TU Architecture Building |
 |
| Studio space...SO AWESOME. |
 |
| Study/conference area |
 |
| Lounge, just for relaxing, complete with a grand piano |
 |
| Main hall with neon signage |
 |
| Cafe with personal chefs! |
See what I mean. Just plain awesome...
 |
| New Church of Delft (all Dutch royalty is buried here) |
 |
| Main tomb |
 |
| Protestant services are still held here |
 |
| Kunsthal designed by Rem Koolhaas |
 |
| Hallway in the museum |
 |
| Another corridor with grate floor (you could see through to the floor below...) |
 |
| Main auditorium space |
 |
| Cube Houses in Rotterdam designed by Piet Blom |
 |
| View from the attic porch |
 |
| Toren op Zuid (South Tower) in Rotterdam designed by Renzo Piano |
 |
| Taxi boat in Rotterdam |
 |
| Media Station Office Building in Hilversum designed by MVRDV |
 |
| Interior atrium |
 |
| Concrete hill inside! |
 |
| Floor becoming the ceiling...no big deal. |
 |
| So many outdoor spaces, awesome place to have an office. |
 |
| Institute for Sound and Vision in Hilversum designed by Neutelings Riedijk Architects |
 |
| Colored glass exterio with reflcting pool |
 |
| Interior atrium |
 |
| The building goes just as far down into the ground as it goes above ground. |
 |
| Streets of hilversum (they actually had individual houses, unusual for The Netherlands) |
Well, that was a brief glance at my trip. There were so many more really cool things that we did, so you should definitely ask me about them later. :)
I guess it is back to work this week, because some of our projects are due soon. I probably should have started them earlier. Procrastinating is never good. But who could blame me with all these cool trips to distract me haha...Wish me luck!
Then it is off to Madrid for the weekend. :)
Until next time...
Un abrazo,
Seth
Micah 6:8
