MEMO BOARD WINNING DESIGN FOR RAINBOW STAIRS The winning design for the Rainbow Stairs on Zuidplein has been announced. With 1,891 people casting their votes for one of three pre-selected designs, the winner got over 38% of the votes. Meant to promote awareness, visibility and acceptance of LHBTIQ+ people, it features a rainbow in the style of the new Progress Pride Flag. This is the familiar rainbow flag plus an arrow of stripes in five more colours. The colours light blue, pink and white are from the transgender flag, while brown and black symbolize people of colour as well as those who have died of, or are living with, AIDS.
HUNDREDS OF VOCATIONAL STUDENTS GET HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE AT NH AMSTERDAM ZUID The Amsterdam Regional Training Centre (ROC) and NH Amsterdam Zuid hotel, in association with the municipality of Amsterdam, are helping 250 hospitality students re-join the real working world this week. In the coming months this group will grow to 750 students. The NH Amsterdam Zuid hotel on Van Leijenberghlaan has been set up as a temporary training location, where tourism, hotel and
BEACON OF LIGHT RESTORED
facility services students can get hands-on experience, despite the Covid pandemic. They’ll receive supervision and guidance from
With the complex restoration of the light artwork White Noise
NH Amsterdam Zuid staff and hospitality programme instructors.
on top of the 150-metre tall Cellnex media tower, completed on
Thanks to this joint initiative, students will be able to acquire
2 December, the Zuidas skyline has been restored to its former
practical experience they need.
glory. The LED lights needed to be fixed due to wear and tear. The media tower is used for radio (digital radio and analogue emergency alert system), television (digital TV), telecom (mobile networks), microwave transmissions and data centres. It has been one of the city’s tallest structures since 2009, when the tower was not only raised but also ornamented with a design by architect Christof Schwencke. For a better fit with the architectural and design aesthetic of Zuidas, the tower’s concrete shaft was clad in azure-blue light. Conditions up at the top are pretty rough – hence the wear and tear. Temperatures can be stone-cold and there’s no such thing as a soft breeze up there. There’s also a great view of Peregrine falcons bearing down at 360 km per hour on the few pigeons intrepid enough to fly this high.
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