Zo te zien, Wijkpark de Verademing

Zo te zien

Echt, je hoeft niet
helderziend te zijn
om helder te zien
en als je kijkt
is ’t echt
niet wat het lijkt

—

Apparently

Really, you don’t have to
to be clairvoyant
To see clearly
And if you look
It really is
Not what it seems

Somewhere between the city center and the beach lies The Hague’s sports and recreation park De Verademing (“the relief”). The park is located on the site where the waste incineration used to be. The waste was cleaned up, with the contaminated soil being used to create a raised park.

Neighbourhood residents had extensive input into the new design of the park. After years of planning and preparation, the park reopened in the summer of 2018 with a different layout, clearer entrances, and a greener appearance.

For the typographic icing on the cake, a poetry competition was held. The winning lines of poetry by Gert van der Slikke were processed by Wilmar Grossouw into a lettering that is part of a concrete seating edge along one of the park’s bicycle paths. The letters are set in capitals of Greta Sans Extended of Typotheque. To match the execution in bent metal, Gossauw and type designer Peter Biľak collaborated on some necessary modifications. Around that time, the foundry moved to an office next to the park, making this Use a schoolbook example of local type!

For a good overview of the 66 meter long installation, see a walkalong movie by Peter Biľak on Instagram.