A letter written to the Mayor of Schijndel by Winy Maas as a student, which eventually lead to the realisation of MVRDV's Glass Farm in the town in the province of Brabant, has been set in stone. On the last Sunday of August in 1980, a fair was held in Schijndel's main square, which had been a victim of WWII bombs, exploring the possibilities of restoring the public space. A young Winy Maas, then a school student, saw the fair, and began to think about the possibilites for building.
By September 21st, he had written a letter to the town's Mayor, lamenting the unimaginative ideas proposed for the space. "In my view, it would be very sensible to hold an 'idea competition' to stimulate a discussion on how best to design and furnish the area. (Provided, naturally, that the competition is properly organized)." Maas wrote. He concluded his letter, expressing a wish that, thirty years later, came to fruition in the realisation of the Glass Farm 'Hoping, in due course, to have an opportunity to make my own small contribution [to the issue of the square]'.
That historic letter has now been immortalised in stone, on the very square in Schijndel's centre which Maas was so disatisfied with as a young man more than 30 years ago. So too, the response letter from the Mayor, also from 1980, and also MVRDV's hastily sketched plan for the building, from 2011, have also been set in stone on the square. The story of the letter, and the entire process of designing and realising the building, was recorded in MVRDV's 'The Glass Farm: Biography of a Building', written together with Gerard Buenen.
For more info on the book click here and to learn more about Glass Farm click here.