Almere and the whole province it is situated in: "Flevoland", are playgrounds for contemporary architecture. You won't find sixteenth-century buildings here for the reason that, in the sixteenth century, this land was submerged. It was raised and pumped dry to provide new surface for the growing population to live and farm on, and, some areas excepted, has an air of spaciousness seldom found in the Netherlands. It also has a certain "let's get playful with materials" Teletubby look. Like the Bijlmer, this is another attempt at making dream homes that failed to catch the public's interest; most people who live here wanted to live in Amsterdam but couldn't get a house there and so chose the next best thing. Almere Stad is the perfect embodiment of the Flevoland spirit; happy, colourful, and slightly insane.
It is a natural law, apparently, that the buildings around railways must be hideous to behold. This is what one sees travelling by train from Amsterdam Central Station to Almere Central Station; ugly buildings, but, in keeping with the idea of space, also the expanses of flat green "polder" that the country is known for.
Here we are at the bright happy sunny station of Almere.
And now: the happy station's underbelly. This is where the bus stops are. The bus stops are the booth-like constructions with the big numbers on them. They all have different colours. Not visible on this photo, the bicycle rack has a big black cast-iron bicycle by its side, to show that here is where one puts one's bicycle.
"Marktplein". For that spacious feeling.
More shots of Almere-Stad's town/shopping centre. Did I mention the architect responsible for this town's creation loves colour?
A clock playfully overhanging the road, reminding us that time stops for no one.
A temp agency, highly symbolic of what keeps this madness turning. There is no worse crime in Almere than not having a job. We don't want jobless slobs in Almere, nosir!
