May 14th, 2016: Markthal

[xoxoxoBruce]

Were you ever home and said, I have to go to the food store, but I'm not in the mood for crowds and
standing in line... I wonder if they're busy right now?
Did you ever wish you could look out the window and see? Or through the floor?
What!?

At Rotterdam’s historic Binnenrotte Square, next to Blaak Station, is an eleven-stories-tall arched building
that huddles over an immense food market on the ground floor. The arched building is also habitable
and contains over two hundred apartments, with each unit equipped with either a window looking out into
the market or a glass square in the floor so residents can look down into the bustling venue below.

Opened in 2014, Markthal, Dutch for “Market Hall”, is the Netherland’s first covered market and a unique
spectacle. Unique is not only its shape and size, but especially the way the different functions are combined.
The combination of an apartment building covering a fresh food market with food shops, restaurants,
a supermarket and an underground parking garage can only be found in Rotterdam.

The large mural which covers the vaulted interior, was made by artists Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam, and
got a lot of attention when the Markthal opened in 2014. The artwork, titled Cornucopia occupies 11,000
square meters and shows oversized images of market produce which can be bought at the market, while
the flowers and insects refer to the work of Dutch still life masters from the 17th century.
The images were created digitally and rendered by Pixar Studios and printed on perforated aluminum panels.
It is said that print resolution of the art work is comparable to a glossy magazine.

Sounds like a nice place to live but I don't speak Rotterdamy... Rotterdamish... Rotterdamese... Dutch.

link