Successful vision: the Sea Green Carpet

Mothership developed a vision for the municipality of Almere based on Almere’s special history as a new city, built on the seabed. Under the umbrella title ‘De Zeegroene Loper’, Mothership made a series of coherent proposals to make the inner city, between Central Station and the Weerwater, greener (sea green…) and more attractive. To let everyone in the new city experience that special quality, that unique identity, of Almere.

This is precisely the expertise of Mothership: from an overarching vision to arrive at a concept that positively marks the public space in a special way. That senses the history, the DNA of the place and brings out its power.

Along that Sea Green Carpet, Mothership has already realised a number of special works. Besides Geert Mul’s project and the Floating Forest, four others. The new park of LOLA Landscape Architects on the Stadhuispromenade, for instance, got a beautiful 110-metre-long, winding bench that was taken care of by artist Jan van der Ploeg. He brought out all the colours of the sea to represent the strength of Almere. The ‘Zeebank’ is now used intensively.

Mothership was asked by Lesley Bamberger (CEO Kroonenberg Group) to come up with something special for a blind wall. Here, in a covered passage connecting the bus station to the Stationsplein, is now the light artwork ‘City on water level’ by artist Iwan Smit. The artwork tells the story of Almere and is part of the Sea Green Carpet.

During the Floriade, Mothership’s work was clearly visible; next to the Floating Forest two works in the Weerwater.

First, the Power Flower, a spectacular light show that lit up the sky above the water since the opening on 13 April with twenty lights in a high-voltage mast in the middle of the lake.

Secondly, the Pontoon Boulevard, an imposingly long walkway that went from the Esplanade 150 metres up the Weerwater and reached the Floriade grounds. Visitors could thus see the silhouette of their city from the water for a change. At the end of the pier was a water artwork in the form of a geyser, by artist Meike Justine Ziegler: ‘Nieuw Flevo Peil’ (NFP).

All these projects are part of the Sea Green Carpet. Slowly but surely, the atmosphere and quality of the centre of Almere is changing from stony to soft and from buildings to people. By repeatedly reflecting the unique identity of the city in all our proposals, Mothership contributes significantly to that change. And that our work is successful; is evidenced by the fact that the municipality offers Mothership space to further develop the Sea Green Carpet in the years to come.

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