In cooperation with Architecture Center Aorta, The Center for the Advancement of Recreation and Leisure (Eric von Robertson) will provide two excursions through the shopping-terminal. These tours highlight; collisions in architecture, the key roles of sculpture in commercial settings, a banished rest area with large tropical palms and other improvised encounters in an attempt to gain some sense of orientation amongst the surrounding visual congestion of the shopping-terminal

Resevation is neccesary. send an e-mail to tours@aorta.nu   or visit www.aorta.nu 

Publication presentation
> 10th July, 20.00 hrs, Krugertsraat 11, Utrecht.
> As part of this project, Expodium presents a publication in which the whole trajectory is documented.   With contributions by Luuk Boelens, Hans Buiter, Saskia Sassen and participating artist.

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Traversing the ‘Knot’

Upon arriving by train in Utrecht I find myself caught in a tangled wash of pedestrian traffic, being cut off, skipping stride to avoid the oncoming wall of elbows and briefcases. In this situation it’s essentially a question of gaining some sense of orientation, of locating myself in relationship to a space or existing elements that maintain some continuity for the entire layout. With this in sight I kept returning to an existing sculpture by the artist Shinkichi Tajiri a large vertical tube twisted into a knot. This work seems to lend a clear definition for the space and functions, as it was probably intended – as a landmark or central meeting point.

Revisiting the rest area

 What is difficult to grasp and which remains invisible behind this ‘knot’ today, is a complete rest area with high tropical palms and adjoining hardwood benches. These are the kind of spaces that provide an inhabitable atmosphere and visually distinguish the site. When malls begin occupying city centers or defining the routes between public transit hubs, consideration should be taken to provide more than the average shopping experience. This means creating environments that are compelling, legible and publicly accessible. 

Weathering the Storm

It happens a few times a season. A severe storm closes all transportation terminals over a wide region and you’re stranded. Ticket in hand, with no idea how to get where you’re going or what to do with the time in-between. In summer it can be hurricanes, heavy rains, thunderstorms, or high winds that delay travel plans for days, but every season has its natural disasters.

Jan 18 2007, Thousands of travelers stranded in Utrecht Central / Hoog Catharijne.

Hurricane force winds battered parts of Europe on Thursday.  The storms brought torrential rains and winds gusting at close to 170 kilometers per hour (105 mph). The Dutch transport ministry suspended public transport leaving thousands of commuters stranded throughout the country. 

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Hoog Catharijne project opens May 29  

Expodium, Utrecht
 o.a. Tilmann Meyer-Faje, Hendrik-Jan Hunneman, Edward Clydesdale Thomson, Sebastiaan Verhees en Eric von Robertson


Opening thursday 29th May, 20.00 hrs, Gildenkwartier 37 (inside Hoog Catharijne, just across the Mediamarkt).

Jewel of the….. HC on the move focuses on urban development in Utrecht, and in particular the development of the Hoog Catharijne shopping complex The complex was built in the early 1970s as a revolutionary shopping concept, but already during the construction concessions were being made that watered down the original design and the vision of the design team that lay behind it. After the completion of Hoog Catharijne there were more and more adaptations made over the course of time, so that little of the revolutionary concept is left today. Hoog Catharijne is no longer equipped to deal with today’s public and the demands of our day. With a group of ten artists, research will be done into the redevelopment of Hoog Catharijne and all of the agendas that are caught up with that redevelopment.