Photobook ‘Metropoolder’ in collaboration with Podium voor Architectuur.

This photo book is one of the final products of my spatial explorations in Haarlemmermeer. It was given to architects involved in significant developments within the polder to represent a sense of identity in the landscape during future changes, specifically around the railway zone.

The Haarlemmermeer polder is a young landscape that was pragmatically laid out by man at its inception. This pragmatic attitude is reflected in the straight polder roads, the logistics around Schiphol, the village centers, and our use of the landscape. It is practical, but when you speak to residents, there is a lack of emotional experience of the landscape and a distinct sense of identity. Few people are truly in love with this region.

While the polder is often photographed in the same pragmatic way, Podium voor Architectuur needed a poetic perspective on the landscape. They gave me the trust to shape this from my own vision.

The book consists of three chapters: archival images, my spatial explorations, and examples of how to translate the photography into architectural design.

Graphic design by Floor Nijdeken, Podium Voor Architectuur.