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I discovered Grijs, a nice Blog with a nice style about Dutch Design and more important in the English language. Started in January, 2007 by a Dutch lady and mainly about European design.
Dutch Design (14): Grijs (Grey)
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Category: Dutch Design
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Dutch Design (13): Good Bye ABN AMRO
December 28, 2004
Launch of ABN AMRO 2
Photo © Happy Hotelier
Going back in time to December 28, 2004:
My friend Bas had wiped off the snow from ABN AMRO 2’s name, later nicknamed White Betty, just prior to its launch.
Bas was responsible for the styling of the two ABN AMRO sponsored sailing boats and the styling of all means of communication around the two ABN AMRO teams competing in the round the world Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006 edition that was won by White Betty’s sister competitor, ABN AMRO 1, aptly nicknamed Black Betty. After the America’s Cup the Volvo Ocean Race is the second most prestigious sailing race.
The Volvo Ocean campaign gave ABN AMRO Bank enormous media coverage and established the brand and the logo very well.
Today the press announced an unfriendly take over bid from three banks, Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Santander, who want to divide ABN AMRO in several digestible chunks. It is the second bid after one from Barclay’s that seemingly intends to keep ABN AMRO BANK more in tact than the threesome, but conditioned its bid upon the sale by ABN AMRO Bank of its US subsidiary La Salle to Bank of America. In the meantime a Dutch judge has ordered that ABN AMRO seek approval for the La Salle sale from its shareholders, something I believe would only be normal, but what the ABN AMRO board wants to contest up to the Dutch supreme court.
A real take over fight in our otherwise reasonable peaceful corporate landscape here in The Netherlands…
So, probably the logo and the brand will disappear with the company before long, which is a pity for a company that goes back to the nineteenth century when the Dutch King initiated one of its predecessors.
Dutch Design (12): DryBike Umbrella Holder
Thanks to Constance, the Blogging Stewardess I came across this nifty gadget of Drybike the umbrella holder to put on your bike.
Very helpful in this rainy country with more bikes (approx 18 mio) than inhabitants (approx 17 mio).
I would advise to use the Senz Storm Umbrella that has less chance to fly away (with you) in case of strong wind.
Dutch Design (11): White Lacquered Rietveld Red and Blue Chair fetches record at Christie’s
Today was an important Rietveld day at Christie’s in Amsterdam.
Not many people will know (at least I didn’t know) that before Dutch Chair Designer Gerrit Rietveld painted the Red Blue Rietveld Chair red and blue, inspired as he then must have been by Piet Mondriaan, another member of De Stijl Groep (pronounce as:”the Style Group”), he made several mono colored ones.
Today this white lacquered example has been sold at a Christie’s auction in Amsterdam for a record amount of Euro 264,000, while Christie’s estimate was between Euro 50,000 and 80,000. Please do not forget the extras for Christie’s on top of that amount!
Read more at my Chair Blog
There I also report about more Rietveld Chairs auctioned today:
Dutch Design (10): Massive new office for Europol in The Hague
Europol calls itself “The European Police Office”. Its is the European Union Law Enforcement Organization that handles criminal intelligence. Its mission is to assist the law enforcement authorities of Member States in their fight against serious forms of organized crime. It has its main office in The Hague in a building that used to be a college campus.
There are plans to move the main office to another location in The Hague,
because of the necessary(?) increase of the number of international employees due to the influx of many new member States into the European Union.
The designated building plot for the new office is close to a residential area with a great monumental value.
Doesn’t look too bad. However, if I’m well informed that for security reasons the current plan is the same building, but 90 degrees rotated left which is far worse compared to this situating, because the residents in this Marquette situated in the lower left corner will only see the blind walls of the left building and of the highest building (The architect’s rendering cleverly don’t show the blind walls.)
Today the Municipal Committee that monitors the design of new buildings (and their impact in monumentally valuable environments) will have a public hearing, while about 300 near by residents have lodged protests against the building plans the massiveness of the buildings itself and the necessity of taking a lot of space for security measures. Just because of the heavy post 9/11 security measures around the USA Embassy, The Hague and the US ambassador recently agreed to move the Embassy outside the city center. This on its turn caused protests of the residents around the building plot for the new Embassy. Civil servants jargon for such protest is NIMBY: “No In My Back Yard!”
Even the former state architect and a couple of influential Dutch architects have written an open letter to the The Hague Municipal authorities to urge them not to take this spot, or at least not to build the building that is anticipated.
Another angle that the residents will not see!
Rendering thanks to the winning
Quist Wintermans Architects
At first glance Europol’s site doesn’t divulge a word about this plans except for this ancient press release. Probably, because they lack some corporate governance officers: See their job opportunities. Come on ladies and gentlemen, the salaries are -as usual with inter governmental organizations- on a very low tax base…. I find it strange, as in the past (well already about 20 years ago now) another intergovernmental organization, the European Patent Office with main seat in Munich, Germany and second important office in Rijswijk, a suburb of The Hague, attracted a lot of publicity with new building plans that eventually didn’t com through, because the number of European patent application all of a sudden decreased enormously.
Well we will see what the wise man will decide. Maybe they will rotate it back 90 degrees 🙂 “And they took a sip from their glass and left it as it was”