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Alex de Jong, winner of De Meester 2016 with his project Water Vernieuwt!
Dear Fleur et al.,
With pleasure and enthusiasm I want to give you an update concerning the developments after winning the promotion prize De Meester 2016.
A lot has happened since November 2016. To put it mildly, everything is turned upside down. The winning of De Meester has opened closed doors, led to new development perspectives in this great field and the plan De Stadsoverlaat (part of WaterVernieuwt!) Continues and the sequel is challenging, inspiring and motivates enormously to keep digging in the rich Dutch tradition of urban planning and civil engineering.
The new year is less than a month old and already the graduation plan WaterVernieuwt! stages to present themselves to the professional and external world. Last week – Tuesday, January 17 j.l. – I was allowed to present the plan to Rijkswaterstaat Oost. This interactive workshop has provided the plan with new élan. The sharp edges are becoming more and more diminishing and, in terms of content, the plan is given a special twist which – if properly worked out – can make an interesting contribution to the debate that aims to make our Dutch water state future-proof, safe and attractive.
The principle of De Stadsoverlaat, which from the alliance of climate change, water flows and landscape contributes new development initiatives for the renewal of city and country, gets more notes on the repertoire. That is a merit that was created by winning the Master.
The enthusiasm, the drive, the faith but also the financial means, the name recognition and the stage that the winning of De Meester has created, makes for a great development spurt of me as a person. In that respect I can happily praise myself as an alumnus of the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture, who, together with the Fleur Groenendijk Foundation, facilitate this great initiative. This is truly a great initiative in which young upcoming architects and / or urban designers can spread their philosophy to the outside world.
Anyway, there is still a lot on the program in the coming months. So I hope to be able to join the NWP in The Hague in March and I intend to launch my website www.destadsoverlaat.eu as of 1 April. With that, I want to carry on the plan at home and abroad. In mid-May I will return to Rijkswaterstaat with a refined and tightened plan …. Then … who knows !?
All in all a busy schedule. But I like to make time to come over again to enjoy a cup of coffee about everything that is going to happen and has taken place after winning De Meester with the plan De Stadsoverlaat.
Sincerely,
Alex De Jong
The Master of 2016
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