'Vuurdoornpark' in the Seghweart district by Ton Van Zeijl

About "'Vuurdoornpark' in the Seghweart district"

by Ton Van Zeijl

About the artwork

An almost abstract example of the timber-frame construction of architectural firm Passchier and VandenSteen and the expressive architecture of Carel Weber († February 2025)

This image was taken with a Hasselblad 500 cm camera on Kodak negative film 160 VC.

The development of modern Zoetermeer should have found its end point in the completion of the Seghwaert district, the fifth district from the 1968 Structure Plan, completing the wreath around the newly built City Centre. But Zoetermeer would continue to grow and even cross the A12. That was not yet the case in 1976 when construction of Seghwaert began.

Zoetermeer, the Gave City
Since September 2001, I have been photographing the city of Zoetermeer under the name "Zoetermeer, the Gave City". Initially on film with my Hasselblad. Later digitally with my Canon cameras. The project included neighbourhood exhibitions, a book, a film with residents and exhibitions in China and Slovenia.

Zoetermeer is a fun, vibrant and interesting city for young and old to live, work and recreate in. But also cool because the city was built according to the original plans of the early 1960s and changes are only now taking place. In just 60 years, the city grew from a rural community of 7,000 inhabitants to a city of more than 125,000. This development has given Zoetermeer a beautiful sample of post-war architecture and urban planning.