The Future of Amstelland: a research project

The project 'Toekomst Amstelland' (‘The Future of Amstelland’) was based on the urban development of Amsterdam’s South Axis, Amstelveen, Schiphol and Almere. These developments demand a redefinition of, Amstelland, the greenbelt that lie between the urban areas. In 2003 SKOR and the AFK approached Hester Oerlemans, Jan Dietvorst, G.A.N.G. and De Geuzen to develop a concept that could result in a design or project proposal that would either enrich or provide critical commentary to the future scenarios that have already been developed for this area.

SKOR considered developing the pilot that Jan Dietvorst made as well as the carpool area-annex-noise barrier made by Hester Oerlemans. In 2004 a publication about the entire project was produced.

What significance can visual art have in the reorganization of the Dutch landscape? Many art projects that are currently taking place in the Netherlands are based on this very question. As a result of the farming industry’s demise and the concurrent emergence of recreational landscapes, Dutch rural areas are being redefined and reorganized. In addition to functional, economic and ecological aspects, the cultural ‘feel’ and perception of the landscape also play a role.
For this reason it is preferable that the reorganization of the Netherlands should not be exclusively determined by town planners but also by the work of interdisciplinary teams that include designers and artists. With their projects the artists are expected to contribute something that either enriches, intensifies, accentuates, adjusts, offers a new twist to or uncovers a social subtext of the existing image of the landscape. However can artists play a meaningful part in this processes and should they wish to? On the invitation of SKOR and AFK the artists Hester Oerlemans, Jan Dietvorst, De Geuzen and Stichting G.A.N.G. participated in the project 'Toekomst Amstelland'.

In June 2003 Toekomst Amstelland organized a number of activities for the public and artists presented their visions of (the future of) the area. Art historian/author Marjolein Sponselee was approached by SKOR and AFK to chronicle the event. On the website ^* she regularly reported on the developments and on how the art project was included.

Hester Oerlemans’ Project Proposal

In Hester Oerlemans designs functionality and recreation go hand in hand. Oerlemans discovered the possibility of using a few wind turbines to make a recreational facility and she also conceived of a parking facility that simultaneously functions as a noise barrier. Through an ingenious carpool system, she found an additional solution to parking and mobility problems in Amsterdam. The unique result of Oerlemans' proposal represents a combination of purpose and pleasure.

Jan Dietvorst’s Project Proposal

Artist Jan Dietvorst presented a documentary manifesto. The film conjures up an image of Amstelland in 2030. Amstelland is a mysterious, unknown area that can only be penetrated by boat. Dietvorst’s manifesto is in response to the landscape architects’ proposal to open up Amstelland to the new leisure class. According to Dietvorst this proposal conflicts with the exceptional desertedness and rural character of the area. With his film Dietvorst argued in defense of this mysterious and inaccessible marshland.

De Geuzen’s Project Proposal

According to the artists collective, De Geuzen, the memory of ‘the pastoral’ – largely created by the visual culture and upheld by the media – is necessary to experience the quality of the landscape. In this sense Amstelland acts as a screen that projects nostalgic, archetypical and economic fantasies. During a few laboratory sessions in Fort Abcoude the participants, under the supervision of De Geuzen, were offered a variety of perspectives of the landscape. With this sensory and educational journey of discovery, De Geuzen brought about a (re)construction of the pastoral experience.

G.A.N.G.’s Project Proposal

Artists collective G.A.N.G. wishes to open up Amstelland to hikers. Nevertheless their proposal is just as radical as Dietvorst’s. According to them Amstelland’s topography and plants must, in as far as this is possible, be returned to the state in which they were in in 1870. Meanwhile, in an abandoned forested section along the A9, they launched a proposal for a new form of ‘roadside tourism’. A rest area located between the freeway and the polder will be transformed into a new nature reserve, complete with hiking routes, picnic facilities and a beer garden.