Part I: Sydney Shea
On our final day in Eindhoven, Mayke led us on a bicycle tour of the city. Our tour began at Strijp S, the former industrial area our hotel was located in. After cycling a few kilometers south east, we stopped at the Hovening. Completed in 2012, this bicycle roundabout is a landmark for the Eindhoven and signals your entrance into the city. The roundabout floats above vehicular traffic, fully separating bicycles from the street. Shortly after the project was finished, people noticed that the cables on the bridge vibrated more in the wind than expected. The roundabout was shutdown for investigation and engineers used counterweights to fix the issue. The Hovening has been a successful piece of infrastructure in the city for almost ten years, again marking Eindhoven as a center for innovation and invention.
We next cycled through Meerland Park. At more than 100 football fields large, this park provides a wealth of greenspace for habitat and recreational activities. At the center of the park we stopped at a large enclosed pasture. Modeled after the english landscape style and reminiscent of an American prairie, the pasture is home to a population of Dutch belted cows. These cows, also known as Lakenvelder cows, are black with a large strip of white around the middle and thus appear to be wearing a belt or blanket. Our ride continued through the rest of the park and over the Beatrix canal. We snaked through residential neighborhoods and wooded trails enjoying the warm afternoon weather.
Our next stop on the tour was the Berenkuil, a sunken bicycle traffic circle in Eindhoven known for the graffiti covering tis concrete retaining walls. The traffic circle is a designated graffiti open zone regulated by a set of rules the community establishes. In 2010 the traffic circle hosted an international graffiti festival. Eindhoven continues to hold the largest street art festival in the world every year and frequently commissions new work. A few kilometers further and our energy began to dwindle. We ended our tour with a stop in the sun and ice cream, rounding out a successful day of cycling.
Images: 1-3; Evan Furr, 4-6; Matthew Kunnari
This photoshopped image shows the various moments along our bike trip of a canal, a building in the technical university campus of Eindhoven and graffiti artwork in a park filled it that changes on a yearly basis. The center image of the canal with a kayaker is one that we joked could be the makings of a “perfect rendering”.
This flying saucer building named Evolun was a science museum built by the philips company in 1966. In 1989 it was converted into a conference center after declining attendance in museum attendance. This building was meant to evoke the futuristic aesthetic along with the innovative exhibits that were displayed inside.
Drawing of a street in an affluent neighborhood in Eindhoven during the spring.
Bike tour of Eindhoven.
The Hovenring- The elevated bike roundabout on the outskirts of Eindhoven.
One of the numerous former industrial sites that are being repurposed for the creative class in Eindhoven.
Cities on Water 2019 