The International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens
nineteenth edition, 2008
The eye, i.e. the empty receptacle, must be simple in shape and must be able to express dignity, because it is through simplicity and dignity that it will be possible to initiate a dialogue between the cultural institutions present on the campus and the sky overhead, between the open space and the air. Neither the inhabitants of the district, nor the representatives of the institutions and their normal users nor the politicians suggested the plan to me; they did, however, provide me with a lot of information. I listened to their needs, their dreams and their expectations and in thinking them through I have used my imagination in seeking a result that has a simple dignity». These words of Sven-Ingvar Andersson offer the clearest of insights into his guiding concept. The consultations and the discussions that followed took place in the light of the 1993 masterplan which, with small amendments, was approved by South Amsterdam City Council in September 1995 and in the subsequent four years provided the unifying framework for the many far-reaching project actions. The Museumplein is still the site of ongoing work – the renovation of the Rijksmuseum, which won’t finish until 2013, the new cycle lanes that are being laid and, in particular, the complicated extension and new entrance for the Stedelijkmuseum. Also in view of the city’s explicit ambitions to be a centre of excellence in the metropolitan geography of Europe, Amsterdam’s “campo dei musei” is once again at the centre of the attention of the Public Administration, of those in charge of museums, of the Dutch scientific community and of the area’s inhabitants. Such attention provides an opportunity to return to the unfulfilled aspects of the project, in particular as regards the layout and the role of the Concertgebouw Square in the spatial and functional system of the Museumplein and the choice of the point where automobiles enter and emerge from the underground car park. Such attention is necessary too because a great open urban space designed to tolerate any and every possible use has a daily need of loving attention and actions capable of restoring the light line in accordance with the original idea, of maintaining the quality of the lawn and renewing the vegetation; rules to remove the decorative features that tend to accumulate there; decisions to ensure continuation of the work undertaken. The jury therefore makes a heartfelt appeal to those who are responsible for the Museumplein, confident that they will apply the care, attention and rules required to ensure the safeguarding of the distinctive characteristics of its form and its vital force and to enhance the impact of its universal message of noble simplicity and quiet greatness.
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