Project detailsx

Client: Government of Amsterdam
Location: Waterloo Square – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Year: 2021
Surface: 750 m2
Material: Raficlad with digital print
Specifics: The digital print was designed by artist Rem Posthuma in collaboration with historical man of letters Annemieke Houben. It features authentic Amsterdam market slogans such as ‘Who’ll untie me’, ‘For a fart and three marbles’, and ‘All for a bit’. So the market vendors and their yells are still clearly present after closing time; you can almost ‘hear’ them!

Photos: Juri Hiensch Photography

The market boxes are like the ‘home’ of the market vendors, from where they display their goods during the day and store them safely in the evening. Thanks to the robust nature of the Raficlad composite panels, the market stalls are highly vandal-proof. The indirect lighting behind the composite panels acts like a lantern effect and gives Waterlooplein a safer feeling even in the darker hours of the day.

The new appearance of Waterlooplein was designed in consultation with the users and residents. In order to give the stony square a more green look and taking into account the surrounding high-rise buildings (most of which are houses), a lot of attention was therefore also paid to the top view: the roofs have a natural covering on which plants will also grow. This gives the market stalls a friendly appearance from all sides.

In total, there are now 34 market booths all over Waterlooplein. Each market stall is 6 metres wide, 2.75 metres deep and 3 metres high. They are spread across the square in two clusters of eight stalls, two clusters of six stalls and three clusters of two stalls. The clusters of two are along the waterfront.

Market vendors can open and close their market stall themselves: the hydraulic canopy is electrically controlled by remote control. A market stall by day, an illuminated market square at night.