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The Dutch Windwheel, by Doepel Strijkers
Resurgent Rotterdam Dutch port city emerging from Amsterdam’s shadow with eye-popping architecture, willingness to innovate, and a proposed Windwheel that just might change the world.
By RICHARD MASSEY Managing Editor O f the world’s national brands, perhaps none are as well known, or as admired, as the Dutch windmill. Symbolic of the country’s ingenuity and can-do at- titude, the windmill speaks to the Dutch ability to not only make a lot out of a little, but to flourish in the process. So it should come as no surprise that the windmill-inspired Dutch Windwheel – a colos- sal waterfront wind turbine that also has apart- ments, a hotel, and offices – is poised to embody the country’s commitment to the economy of the future. But this incredible, 570-foot Windwheel, which will produce more energy than it uses and employ the most advanced clean tech in existence, is not planned for Amsterdam, Holland’s acclaimed cen- ter of art and progressivism. Instead, the Wind- wheel is proposed for Rotterdam, which, over the last couple of decades, has asserted itself as one of the world’s premier incubators of cutting edge ar- chitecture.
“The climate is set for a project like the DutchWind- wheel,” says Duzan Doepel, cofounder and princi- pal of Rotterdam-based Doepel Strijkers , the ar- chitecture firm that designed the Windwheel. “De- velopers from across the world have come to us and said they want to build it tomorrow – but we’re not ready yet.” “Developers from across the world have come to us and said they want to build it tomorrow – but we’re not ready yet.” Though it was designed as a piece of architecture, the real intent of the Windwheel is to serve as a product, the central piece of a futuristic business plan tying together clean energy, real estate, and tourism. Developed by the consortium of Doepel Strijkers, Meysters , and BLOC , otherwise known as the Windwheel Corp. , the project has piqued in- ternational interest, and innovation partners in- clude SIEMENS , HUAWEI , MAMMOET , and PNO .
Duzan Doepel, Co-Founder, Doepel Strijkers
Eline Strijkers, Co-Founder, Doepel Strijkers
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