June 01, 2004
The underlying idea is rather modest: it is hoped that such a metamorphosis will offer better protection against further deterioration than the view of a row of boarded-up houses or the presence of a wasteland. In practice, the impact is much greater. The effect of alienation is unusually strong; people become intrigued. The photographs appear to be manipulated images. Anyone on the street confronted with the blue row of houses is inevitably convinced of the potential of a radical use of colour in architecture. The Monopoly houses by MVRDV in Ypenburg are nothing in comparison. Too bad for the neighbourhood that the row of houses will soon be demolished.
Florentijn Hofman is an artist.