Jan van Grunsven & Arno van der Mark, '301 steps (daylight/tungsten)', 1998

301 steps (daylight/tungsten), Jan van Grunsven en Arno van der Mark, 1998 Foto: Ralph Kämena, 2011

Jan van Grunsven, Arno van der Mark
Location: Schenkkade, The Hague

The proposal for the Schenkstrook by Jan van Grunsven and Arno van der Mark was selected from a series of sketch proposals submitted by them and Onno Dirker, Erick de Lyon, Urs Pfannenmüller, Linda Pollack, and David Veldhoen, which were developed at the urging of Ed 't Hoen from the municipal service REO.

The artists developed their design plans in collaboration with the municipal Urban Development department. Van Grunsven and van der Mark noticed that the Schenkstrook area, stretching from the city center through office buildings to the green urban fringe, had distinct atmospheres. They aimed to enhance these atmospheres in their redesign. They chose the central section, between Prinses Beatrixlaan and Wilhelmina van Pruisenweg, to be distinctly redesigned, albeit with the elements available for road and park construction. Through their involvement, this stretch of road (241 meters or 301 steps) is characterized by a slight elevation change and blue street lighting at night (Daylight/Tungsten). The riverbank area was widened to create a green strip twice as large, while the single-lane road, alongside a bike and pedestrian area, was consolidated into a clear, hard asphalt surface. Nature and urbanity are sharply juxtaposed, without a soft transition between traffic and greenery. Thanks to the artists' direction, the visual arts have become an integral partner in this public space.