Participation time, Thursday the 23rd of September Arttenders was present at the information market in Huis van de Wijk Het Klooster (a local community centre). Residents of Rotterdam-Noord were offered more information from the municipality, developers, and social housing corporations about the different projects in their neighbourhood. Including the Benthuizerstraat, the street we are giving a new spatial identity! During the information market, Arttenders presented the ideas and designs made in collaboration with local artist Xaviera Altena for the new visual identity of the Benthuizerstraat.

Last March we announced that Arttenders would be transforming the Benthuizerstraat in close consultation with our client Stichting Poort van Noord. Over the last months, we have been working hard on different design ideas for the street. So, you can imagine our delight when we finally could present them to the residents of Rotterdam-Noord!

Participation
The information market was a great success with lots of locals coming by our stand. Our plans were received well by the inhabitants of the lively Benthuizerstraat. The visitors we spoke to were excited to hear about our plans for the dynamic Benthuizerstraat. They were enthusiastic about the idea of adding more colour to the street through the different designs to highlight the identity of the location.

People were given the opportunity to vote on their favourite color. In total, we gathered 62 votes. The verdict? Pink, yellow, blue, and dark green are the winners for now. These colours will surely brighten up the street, a feast for the eye! The idea to take on the Benthuizerstraat was originally initiated by residents and local entrepreneurs therefore it’s important to us to speak with those stakeholders to gather input and create support among the users of the street. In this way, we take on the Benthuizerstraat with the Benthuizernaar for the Benthuizenaar. As social designers getting the community involved is one of our key principles, so we make sure this happens in every project.

Development of the Benthuizerstraat
With the input from this market, we will further develop this project. In the coming months, we are going to implement some parts of the design in the Benthuizerstraat and give the locals a feel of how their street could look in the future. From there we will keep spreading this visual identity on the street with the input we receive throughout the process. Of course, we will keep you updated on further developments!

Images: ©Johannes Odé