EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE AT THE MARKET The beginning of the Albert Cuyp market in Amsterdam now has a 10-meter-high entrance gate designed by spatial designers Overtreders W. The gate was built at the request of the market merchants and consists of 258 lanterns, each lantern showing a picture of the products from one of the market stalls.
The Albert Cuypmarkt in Amsterdam is one of Europe’s biggest daily markets. The western entrance to the market has a clear beginning. Every inhabitant of Amsterdam thinks the market starts at the western side, at the Ferdinand Bolstraat. The easternmost entrance used to be less well known. Coming from the Van Woustraat the Albert Cuyp market seemed to be just one of the many side streets visitors often passed not knowing where to find the market. The new entrance gate guides passers by to the market and in this way helps to revive this previously somewhat neglected part of the market.
The 258 lanterns that make up the gate show blue/white cyanotype images of the merchandise sold. All summer long Reinder Bakker and Hester van Dijk could be found at the market on sunny days with their mobile sun print studio, to capture the merchandise on light sensitive cyanotype paper. With this technique, they turned the colourful chaos of products, shapes and colours at the market into a series of blue/white images. This low-tech working method allowed the designers to produce the images on the spot at the market, thus involving all market vendors in the project beforehand. Objects typical for the market such as cheese, underwear, lace dresses, flowers and fresh herbs rendered the most beautiful images, every detail being directly transferred to the cyanotype paper. All cyanotypes were photographed and printed on the lanterns of the gate.
The gate is 10 meters high, 11 meters wide making it a real landmark for market, naturally a busy, pretty messy place with signs, stalls, terraces and more. It fits well into the existing built environment. Due to its scale, the gate stands tall above the hustle and bustle on the ground.
