20 February 2026
Mannen van Staal built the Elastic Perspective in Barendrecht. While browsing their website, I found more interesting works, such as a giant mocca in Zoetermeer.
I started my tour at the former Floriade park with “Een kale zege” (A bare victory). A series of fifteen steel triumphal arches by Robert Verhaaf. Nearby, just across the water, the word LOVE is spelled in large letters. The “O” is formed by two replica’s of jawbones of a finback whale. A perfect place to do a love photo shoot? Paul Perry named it “Victory-Love-Conquest, A Monument to RAPE’
In another part of town are Interaction I and Interaction II, created by Marja de Boer Lichtveld-de Bruyn and Frans de Boer Lichtveld. Two steel curls in the water reflect the light and the seasons.
A recent edition the the public art in Zoetermeer is de Waterloper (Waterwalker). A boardwalk takes you across the water to a bench inside a metal frame shaped like the top of the church tower on the other across the water. It was designed and build by Obseravatorium.
Finally, the goal of my trip, the giant coffeepot named “De Zuil van Palestein” (The pillar of Palenstein). It was designed by Q.S. Serafijn, who passed away before the work was completed. The architect Jan Willem Terlouw, with whom Q.S. worked intensively and his widow completed the project. It bears an inscription: “One more cup of coffee for the road”. The mocca is one meter high, that could be enough coffee for a day…
Click on the photos to enlarge them.
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