Peter Struycken Untitled (1969)

Artist Peter Struycken was one of the pioneers of the Arnhem School and of environmental art. In the latter case, an artist did not leave a physical work of art, but made a design for a new environment together with the architect or landscape designer. In this way the artist could imagine himself to be equal to the architect. In 1967 a modern design was made by municipal architect André van Stekelenburg for the third depot of the Municipal Archives on Robert Fruinstraat. The building was completed in 1970 with an outdoor work of art by Struycken. The work consists of a design of black and white lines and surfaces on the paving, the fence, the facades and the fence. A sofa on the top floor patio is also part of the design. Meanwhile, the work from 1969 has been affected, but old photos from the Rotterdam City Archives clearly show how the original design connects with the architecture. The white facades continue in this way into the white surfaces in Struycken's design. The windows form black lines in the building, which in Struycken's design are continued in the paving, facades and fences.