The Amstel river is the main river of Amsterdam. Around 1200 they build a dam in the river and that was the birth of Amsterdam (or Amstelredamme as it was called back then). This dam is now situated under the Dam square, the central square of the city. If you bike from the old city center to the south along the banks of the Amstel, as I do every day on my way to my studio, the city opens up and gives way to a lot of space. If you follow the river it will take you out of town more quickly then you'd expect since it is surrounded by a green corridor that get's larger and greener as you exit the city. In less then half an hour bike trip from the old city you can find yourself in juicy green pastures between grazing cows and sheep. Only the airplanes heading in and out of Schiphol Airport will remind you that the city is near.

The portal between the Leidseplein nightlife area and the Max Eeuweplein is pompously accentuated by a classical looking façade, designed in 1991 by Zaanen Spanjers Architects. On the frieze, supported by columns, the architect has carved an inscription: ‘Homo sapiens non urinat in ventum’ - ‘A wise man does not piss into the wind’. A ‘wisecrack’, disguised in Latin.

Site specific architecture piece Deltawerk located in Flevoland by RAAAF | Atelier de Lyon, 2018

The best place to read a book outside or inside one of the greenhouses and be surrounded by all of these different species of nature.

At the Damrak on the daily journey between home and studio, my eye is continually drawn to the emblem that has functioned as a façade ornament on the corner of the Beurs van Berlage for more than a hundred years. In combination with the past function of the building - trade centre - and in relation to the present financial crisis, the timeless maxim gains extra significance: ‘Dis-pe-reert niet’ (‘Do not des-pair’).