
Walk with me -
Leon van Geest
Walk with me -
Leon van Geest
The Route
In front of you is a sponge garden. Rain showers in the Netherlands are increasingly heavy. To collect all the rainwater, new initiatives are being developed. To collect the rainwater from the Hofbogen, a "rainproof" rain garden has been constructed.
- Walk along the garden to the Heer Bokelweg. Cross the Heer Bokelweg and walk to the yellow stairs. These stairs go to the entrance to the Luchtpark on the Hofbogen. You really should go up and take a look.
- Continue walking down Raampoortstraat and go up the wooden stairs at Café Roosje.
- Cross the Schiekade via the Luchtsingel. You will emerge at the Biergarten.
- Walk straight along the yellow route and you will come to the Delftseplein. On your left is the Burgertrut.
- Turn left into Poortstraat. You walk past the artwork showing a Red BMW made by Kunst & Vaarwerk in 1987 The Breeman of the license plate paid for the artwork.
- Cross straight across the Weena. You run into Toffler at number 33, a super fun club, this basement spot used to be the exit from the pedestrian tunnel under the Weena.
- Continue walking along Lijnbaan.
- Just before Jamin at Lijnbaan number 56, turn right into the narrow street.
- Walk down Zoutmanstraat to Schouwburgplein.
- Don't get knocked over in the bike lane
- And turn left across Schouwburgplein.
- Then enter Karel Doormanstraat on the left side of Theater Rotterdam.
- You cross the Van Oldenbarneveltstraat
- And you turn right at number 445 into the Karel Doormanhof.
- Among other things, it houses the Piet Zwart Institute, part of the Willem de Kooning Academy.
- You come out on the Mauritsstraat
- And you turn left.
- You cross the Oude Binnenweg.
- On your left in Orchard Court is one of the buildings designed by architect Joost Kühne. He built something new in the packed downtown without having to tear down anything.
- Walk on to the Westblaak.
- Cross straight across
- Walk past the artwork "Guard" by Hans van Bentem.
- You'll also walk past and through Rotterdam's amazing Skatepark.
- Turn left across the street and turn right into Orchard Street.
- Here, too, is a building owned by Joost Kühne; among other things, it houses his agency.
- On the right side see Worm with its unusual entrance. Worm calls itself: Rotterdam's "institute for avant-garde recreation. It organizes concerts and other fun things. The entrance is special. The facade has been moved forward, and a new entrance has been made of glass.
- On Witte de Withstraat, turn right.
- You are walking down one of the nicest nightlife streets in Rotterdam.
- Cross the canal and walk past the church into Museum Park.
- You walk past Sylvette, a large sculpture by Picasso.
- You walk past Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, which has been under renovation for a long time and may open one more time before the world ends.
- And then you come to The Depot.
- See yourself in the mirror and in the middle of Rotterdam.
Leon's secret is: if the museum is closed, but the rooftop restaurant is open, you can go up and chill on the roof for free.
Leon van Geest
Leon is one of the two directors of the Rotterdam Roof Days. The Rotterdam Roof Days show through a festival how to use city roofs. From a roof the city looks different, you can see the horizon and you can breathe freely. Yet now only 3% of all flat roofs in Rotterdam are in use.
Leon loves those parts of Rotterdam that are not yet finished, where it is still rumbling, where there is still movement, the back side of the city. In his footsteps you walk along places that are not yet finished: the Shell Station at Hofplein, the route between Biergarten and Burgertrut and the Zoutmanstraat. These frayed edges of the city will remain for some time. The city is always on the move and is far from being neatly raked. That's where you'll find the city's creatives and that's where you'll also find Leon.
Leon studied at TU Delft.

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