BK Report
ABANDONED BUILDINGS Words Inez Spaargaren
It doesn't matter where you live in the Netherlands; there will probably be several abandoned buildings nearby. While in most cases, the reasons for leaving a building are the same - lack of maintenance, no interest or bankruptcy - this time, the story is much more enjoyable. Each abandoned building has a story about how it became a vacant and escaped occupation, whether it's an urban legend or the truth.
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Take the Faculty of Architecture, a particularly lively and noisy place over four months ago. Now it feels cold and chilly. For months there hasn't been a move in the building. All doors and windows are closed. I look inside, and I hold my hand above my eyes, a light tension rages through my body. It’s hot outside, and I sit down on the floor in the faculty’s shadow, my focus is on the orange hall. Slowly, I disappear into my daydream. In my head, I start walking through the faculty. What is going on here? With small steps, I walk through the long corridors and carefully look around me. Occasionally, I hear crackling, and my heart makes a little leap. I open a door and look around the corner. There is a model, On a black table in the corner, unfinished. Now and then, the glue is loosening because of the heat, and a stick falls. Will the owner get it back? Luckily, it's cool in the shade here, the sunlight barely penetrating the surrounding trees. The same trees that were bare four months ago now are in full bloom thanks to the sun of the last months. I walk further to the model room. A thermometer is not necessary to know that trees do not surround this place: it’s too hot to breathe here... Longing for a little water, I open the tap of the toilets. At first, nothing happens, but after a while, a thick black sludge comes out. What is this?
Last year I stood here every hour filling my water bottle. During this activity, I often had a chat with my classmates. Now it is dead quiet here; you could hear a pin drop. The cozy noise of architecture is gone. When will it come back? The bushes around the faculty are deserted. The gardener hasn't shown himself for weeks, and the branches are slowly bending towards the wall. Looking up, I see a wall of leaves scattered over the windows. Insects soon find their way between the overgrown bushes. I have to stand on my toes to catch a glimpse of the main entrance. Will there be a day when we can go back inside? The above questions can only be answered in the future. Right now, because of the coronavirus, more buildings have become abandoned more ever. Abandoned buildings can be scary and fascinating at the same time. There are many photogenic abandoned buildings all over the world, each with their own story. Let your imagination flow, would the faculty be overgrown by plants after two years standing empty, or will it look like these five abandoned buildings. The following are the stories behind five abandoned buildings… Land van Ooit, Drunen, Netherlands Kloontje, the Giant Child, once stood at the head of
