Horror Vacui or the beauty of the silence? –
April 2020. The country is in lockdown. It is a special time, says Anne Paul Brinkman. In this time of COVID one regains the focus again to see what matters. The beauty is ubiquitous because no one or nothing distracts us. We can look with the same eyes but with a different look at something that is always around us. It is about the here and now, and no longer about elsewhere and later.
We welcome you to the April 2020 Edition of “Through Different Eyes“.
All year around, Brinkman Fine Real Estate invites you into a carefully curated portfolio of properties in The Netherlands and beyond, each one a masterpiece of architectural distinction.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
A nearly empty Dam Square, Amsterdam, April 2020.
HORROR VACUI OR THE BEAUTY OF SILENCE?
The city is more beautiful that ever
It is a special time, says Anne Paul Brinkman. Everything is different. Life is flat and the city is quiet. Therefore everything is different from normal. Usually there is noise all day long and this sometimes hinders our eyesight. Our perception is now determined by the atmosphere of silence. Amsterdam without tourists gives a great calm and space for a different form of perception. The result: the city is more beautiful than ever. How do we maintain the beauty of this strange time, in which the architecture speaks for itself and is not shouted at by the sound of our normal activity? “Every disadvantage has its advantage.”
Global thinking has created a world that has become uniform. Where you live is not good enough: you always want to go somewhere else. The beauty of the here has become secondary to the shape of the everywhere. Speed of life and production leads to the accelerated disposal of products. The global world has led to disposable architecture with a short life expectancy.
In this area we can still learn something from the old buildings. Although ancient architecture also reflected the influences of the world, there was a high degree of sustainability. Brinkman firmly believes that everything that is made with attention and love lasts longer: “The object does something with your mind, so you see it with different eyes. That translates into love for the object, which tends to keep it close to you and keep it well. We must cherish and appreciate the quality that old buildings have. “
In this time of Corona you have the focus again to see what matters. The beauty is ubiquitous because no one or nothing distracts us. We can look with the same eyes but with a different look at something that is always around us. It is about the here and now, and no longer about elsewhere and later. Traveling through the world has been replaced by an internal quest in the soul. “Stand in front of a building, look at what you see, keep looking and see how the building penetrates your soul. See the character and feel the personality of the building. The peace changes looking into perception. And then the city center of Amsterdam suddenly radiates the tranquility of a Romanesque church, where the soul calms down and is deepened. “Where a little emptiness cannot lead to …
Dr. Pieter Vlaardingerbroek
Architectural Historian
The former Amsterdam Main Post Office, stands in silence. April 2020.