Lijnbaan, Architectural ensemble and shopping street in Rotterdam Centrum, Netherlands.
Lijnbaan is a shopping street running 800 meters through Rotterdam's center, covered by wooden canopies and designed entirely for pedestrians. Shops line modernist building complexes that reflect the reconstruction period following the war.
Architects Jo van den Broek and Jaap Bakema designed this commercial district in 1953 as part of Rotterdam's post-war reconstruction. The project emerged from the need to rebuild destroyed neighborhoods with forward-thinking urban design.
The glass artwork titled 'ZEIT' by Milou van Ham and Tsead Brunja decorates this modernist shopping district. These pieces add visual interest to the straightforward architecture as you walk through the passage.
The street is easy to walk through and completely automobile-free, letting you move about without traffic concerns. A 2018 renovation improved accessibility while keeping the original 1950s look intact.
This was the Netherlands' first automobile-free shopping area and influenced urban planning thinking worldwide. The innovative design showed that pedestrian zones could be genuine living spaces for cities, not just quiet afterthoughts.
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