Rotterdam 2040, an artist's vision on city development

A few years ago, the Rotterdam city council presented their City Vision 2030. Artist Gyz La Rivière (34) didn’t like it – at all – but  instead of bitching about it he wrote a book with his vision: Rotterdam 2040. How come parts of this city are so ugly, he wonders. How can we maintain what’s beautiful and improve what’s not? Gyz comes up with suggestions to radically change Rotterdam. Into Utopia? Maybe, but when you don’t dream you’re only sleeping.

What triggered you to write this book?
“Before Rotterdam 2040 I made a little book called Jan Hart (Jan Heart). It’s my unconditional declaration of love to the city of Rotterdam. It’s about the statue De Verwoeste Stad by Zadkine, the monument of the bombardment in WWII. There’s a hole where the heart should be, and this book is about the way people from Rotterdam identify with the hole, and how artists – including me – have tried to fill it up. Purely positive really, but of course I also have a lot of criticism on this city and it’s architectur. Because of my love for Rotterdam I see a lot of things that are wrong with it. When the city council presented their City Vision 2030 I found it so meaningless and downright bad – though there were some good aspects about it – that I thought: I’m just going to write my own vision. And that’s what I did.”

Do you feel governmental organizations lack affinity?
“That’s often the case… and I don’t think it’ll ever change, because people want to make money, and sometimes over others peoples back. But if you want to improve districts or streets or the scenery of the city, you really need to know what’s going on. If you’re going to change Crooswijk as urban developer or property developer, you need to know that Jamin (the famous Dutch candy shop) originates there. But organizations like these sometimes don’t even know why a district like that exists. I criticize the local government in my book, but in the end they are cool too, because they put money in the project.”

I recon this book is a little more critical than Jan Hart?
“Yes, but in a constructive way. I’ve noticed for years that I find a lot of things in this city to be wrong. A lot of beautiful old buildings have been torn down and I want to take care that it doesn’t happen again. I would die inside if the old Luxor theater wouldn’t be there anymore, or Hotel Central. That would be so horrible! But there are people now who want to tear those buildings down… They just don’t understand it. Of course, it isn’t top notch architecture, it will never be on the UNESCO list. But these buildings are the history of our city, they take you back to the twenties and thirties.”

View on the Kruiskade with the old Luxor theater and Hotel Central.
Photo: Gerard Roos, 1946


De Van Speykstraat. Apart from the building on the left, everything has been torn down. Photo: GAR, 1969

What other things did you notice?
“For instance: when you look to the area outside of the Fire Border, you see all kinds of new, ugly buildings. Did bombs fall there? No. The Old West and Old North could’ve been a lot more subtle designed. The city renewal, a fashionable expression in the seventies and eighties, turned out to be city decline. I’ve been thinking about a lot of those things and I just wanted to know all the ins and outs. So, I did a lot of research, looked up a lot of material and I put it all together in this book. If you want to face a prosperous future as a city, you have to know what’s your past. And mistakes that have been made, should not be made again.”

What’s the biggest mistake?
“In short: the separation of living space, working space, traffic and leisure time. It’s an idea by Corbusier, widely known as the founder of modernism. It happened after the bombardment in WWII, when engineer and urban designer Cornelis van Traa made a plan to rebuild the city based on his ideas. It became the blueprint for Rotterdam as we know it. Incidental gems like the Groot Handelsgebouw are beautiful, but on the whole, for the city as a collective, it didn’t work out. There are about 80.000 people who work here in the city center, but just 30.000 living there. That’s not good. I think it is ridiculous that no one lives on the Coolsingel. Or take a look at Hofplein. Man, it’s been seventy years since the bombardment, and the only things at the place are a shoarma bar and an Asian all you can eat restaurant. It makes me sad… Seventy years! We need to go back to integration of living and working. That is to the inhabitants interest, but also to the economy because international companies only want to establish in cities that are culturally accomplished.”


Rotterdam Hofplein. Ravensburger Puzzle, World Wide Series, 500 pieces. Private collection Gyz La Rivière

The new council office, by Rem Koolhaas. Photo: OMA

What other mistakes were made, you think?
“Like I said before, too many buildings are being torn down too easily. It is of course not done in architecture-land to rebuild buildings, but I think that’d be okay in Rotterdam, when done in style. My street for instance is so badly renovated, it’s unbelievable! I always think: where are the old drawings? Why not rebuild the old fronts? I mean: appearances also count. However, I see some changes in the right direction. With the new council office they're going to build – designed by Rem Koolhaas – they’ll leave the old front alone, and build the new building behind it. Something similar happens with the ABN Amro building on the Coolsingel and the building on top of the old Blue Band factory. I really have the feeling the tide has turned, and I’m very glad about that.”

Do you think the look of a city affects the cultural environment?
“Yes. I think the look is very important to the way you experience a city. It’s hard to explain, but if all the lines are monotonous, you behave differently. People feel better in a beautiful street, I know I do. On the other hand: there’s always a group autonomous people among the inhabitants: artists, musicians and such. Luckily, after the war, a lot of artists and creative people stayed in Rotterdam. And I thank them for that, because of them there’s a broad cultural foundation on which I can function, much more easily than they could function in their time.”

Did this city influence you as an artist?
“Very much so. I was born and raised in Rotterdam and this city is my clay, my paint and my canvas. In the visual arts it’s always about tomorrow. You can’t be repetitive. It's about ideas and renewal. That’s very eminent in this city too.”

Rotterdam 2040 is an artists vision. How realistic is all this?
“When books like these are made, it’s pretty much always done by architects or city developers. I don’t have that function, I live and work here. I love this city and that’s why I can vent my gall on it. Not everything I come up with is possible, I know, and everything costs money, of course. But I don’t think about whether it is realistic or not, or what it costs. If I did that, this would be a very boring book. I just suggest things to make this a better city. It’s about emotions and the historic value of buildings like the Luxor. It’s priceless, you just can’t tear that down. I have the feeling a lot of people are with me, and I’m hopeful of the future of this city, if only we cherish its past. Because when you erase all the tracks you leave behind, you are nothing. You only exist in books.”

(Gyz is one half of an artistic duo called HuMobisten, the other half being Rufus Ketting.Together, they run this blog.) 

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