News - RotterdamStyle.com

International Pillow Fight Rotterdam 2018

Bryan van Putten News 19 April 2018

The International Pillow Fight in Rotterdam took place on Saturday, April 14th. Whereas other cities had their pillow fights a week earlier, Rotterdam saw its version of the feathery battle pushed back a full because of the 2018 Rotterdam Marathon.

The Pillow Fight took place in front of the Laurenskerk (also known as Grote Kerk). We were there and posted a live stream on Facebook. Check it out:

International Pillow Fight Rotterdam 2018!
Posted by Rotterdam Style on Saturday, April 14, 2018

Spectacular landscapes and symphonic musical sounds during Planet Earth II - Live In Concert

Marcel Kamphuis News 22 March 2018

In 2013, Ziggo Dome Amsterdam hosted the must-see and hear event ‘Planet Earth in Concert’. The motion picture was accompanied by the symphonic musical sounds of an 80-piece Gelders Orchestra conducted by George Fenton. Five years later, the musical and cinematic experience is back in Rotterdam Ahoy with the most beautiful images of the latest successful BBC series; Planet Earth II.

Much of the success of the TV series can be attributed to presenter and narrator Sir David Attenborough as well as the music composed by Hans Zimmer. Attenborough and Zimmer aren’t present in Rotterdam Ahoy. Tonight's entertainment is provided by the 80-piece The City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Matthew Freeman and joined on stage by presenter Robbert Dijkgraaf. Dijkgraaf narrates the impressive images with introductions, summaries and small jokes. However, since he reads the text from an autocue and because there is a loud echo coming from his microphone, his contribution is not always as good as hoped.

Many of us may have forgotten the music of George Fenton in the previous series, but you will recognize the impressive music of Planet Earth II for sure. Zimmer is famous for creating music for the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception and Gladiator and his music also plays an important role tonight. Composer Hans Zimmer produced the score as well as the main theme for Planet Earth II. The main theme is performed multiple times during the event. Overall, the live orchestral music creates a varied and moving soundtrack to the unique nature images of the BBC and the timing is fantastic.

Planet Earth II by Nikki Smits

In Planet Earth II, unique recordings of Earth are made with the help of drones, heat and light sensitive cameras, telelenses and miniature cameras. Tonight, the scene that draws the most attention is also the most famous scene; the harrowing chase scene between the baby iguana and racer snakes in the Galápagos Islands. It's a scene that has gone viral online and widely captivated social media users, but the audience today is reacting as if they were seeing it for the first time. The audience goes all the way with the story and because of the exciting music and the massive screen behind the orchestra, it’s a really intense experience.

During ‘Planet Earth II - Live In Concert’ viewers immediately step into the footsteps of the animals themselves and travel with them to a new world. New spectacular landscapes and habitats are visited as viewers are treated to experiences and discoveries which have never been seen before. With the ‘Planet Earth II - Live In Concert,’ a new successful concert series has been born. The live music & visual concept has been preceded by among others such as ‘The Godfather Live in Concert’, ‘Disney in Concert’, ‘Harry Potter in Concert’ and hopefully, someday soon, we'll be able to enjoy ‘Planet Earth III - Live In Concert’ as well.

Planet Earth II by Nikki Smits

Rotterdam air quality cleaner and healthier

Bryan van Putten News 20 February 2018

Pollution

The air in Rotterdam is cleaner and healthier than three years ago. A package of measures being taken (in 2015-2018) to improve Rotterdam's air quality is having positive results.

A few years ago, the air quality in Rotterdam was worse than in many other Dutch cities and areas. That is why the municipality, in 2015, together with residents and companies, drew up a package of measures. The package of measures had to result in 40% less soot (EC) emissions due to traffic in 2018 and a faster decrease in NO2 concentration. In addition, the municipality cleaned up its own fleet by 25%.

Solid measures, healthy results

Measurements and calculations by TNO and DCMR show that the emission of soot by traffic was already reduced by 36% in the middle of 2017. This is entirely in line with expectations and means that the 40% decrease in soot will be achieved in 2018.

The measures also ensure a faster reduction of harmful emissions from traffic. 16% less NOx was emitted by traffic. The decrease is mainly the result of the successful scrapping scheme and the banning of diesel cars from before 2001 and petrol cars from before 1992. In addition, more charging points for electric vehicles, clean city logistics and cleaner fuels for trucks, buses and shipping have been deployed.

To improve the flow of traffic in the city, the Rotterdam Mobility Agenda (RMA) was adopted in 2016. Visitors to the city centre are stimulated to park their cars at the P&R locations on the outskirts of the city. The public transport network has been expanded with, among other things, the night metro. The flow of the bicycle at busy intersections has improved and the number of bicycle parking places has increased.

A healthy clean future

The evaluation shows that the measures put in place do their work. The air in Rotterdam has become cleaner and healthier. This change is greater and achieved earlier than would have been the case without the measures in the Air Quality Note. Continuing the measures is necessary to improve air quality even further in the coming years.

Rotterdam continues to build homes at a rapid pace

Bryan van Putten News 03 March 2018

Looking to move to a new home in the coming years? Technically, that should not be a problem. There's a building boom in Rotterdam as new projects add thousands of new homes to the city.

Building record

The environmental permits for around 1,300 new homes have recently become irrevocable. This means that the construction of the Zalmhaven tower and the transformation of the Europoint towers can continue. Both projects will add many new homes. Rotterdam broke a building record in 2017 with the construction of 3764 new homes. It is expected that 2018 will be an even bigger year for the housing market.

Projects already started in 2018:

Hof van Heij (48 homes in Heijplaat)
Zuiderhof (73 homes at the former Zuiderziekenhuis)
(Transformation of) watertorenweg (47 homes in De Esch)

Projects starting later in 2018:

De Cooltower (267 houses in the Baankwartier)
Little-C (320 homes next to the Coolhaven)
(Transformation of the) Europoint Torens (840 homes at Marconiplein)
Zalmhaventoren (482 homes in the Scheepvaartkwartier)

Rotterdam's building boom is the result of the Woonvisie 2030 plan. Part of the city's "housing vision" entails that wherever possible, vacant offices and shops will be converted into homes. Judging by the speed with which new construction projects are moving, it is quite possible that close to 50,000 new homes will be added by 2030.

The FORUM Rotterdam project has officially been launched

Bryan van Putten News 26 November 2017

Construction on FORUM Rotterdam will soon be underway. The massive redevelopment project was officially launched on Thursday, November 23rd, 2017. FORUM Rotterdam will comprise 64,000 square meters of space for stores, cafe's & restaurants, business units and 103 apartments.The project is expected to be finished in 2019.

Part of the project is the renovation of the old ABN AMRO office. This old building is actually a national monument. The ABN AMRO bank itself will also move back into its former home. Surely, one of the most anticipated future tenants of FORUM Rotterdam is Irish fashion retailer PRIMARK.

Another welcome addition to the block is Five Guys, an international burgers & fries chain. Bookstore Donner will remain open for most of the renovations while gradually moving into a brand new home in the building which will see it become the largest bookstore in the Netherlands.

FORUM Rotterdam via OMA

The 103 apartments will vary in size, ranging from 85m2 to 120m2. Renting parking space in a nearby garage will be optional. It is expected that the homes will be ready in the third quarter of 2019.