Office Walk with a Twist : Schiphol Real Estate meets OakOak
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport remains one of the most contemporary places to be in the entire kingdom of the Netherlands, despite celebrating its one hundred year jubilee this year. Â Sleek and stylish, it is an important pillar of the Dutch culture that manages to continuously combine heritage, advanced technology, astute engineering, art, social cohesion and innovation.
Tall office blocks, luxury hotels and multiple parking lots are stretching into the green belts of Haarlemmermeer, gently wrapped by serpentine rings of grey and concrete motorways. Â The airport accommodates some 65,000 employees, who are making the magic of Schiphol enterprise possible. The Base, at the hear of the Airport City, is a perfect example of how appearances can be deceiving. Â Looking rather sharp and official on the outside, the building surprises its visitors on the inside by resembling a playground only associated with Google or advertising agencies.
âWell-being of employees is important to us. Â We already have a library, a white room, currently used as pop-up location by architects, an a playful game room. The 24-hours nanny service is growing, and here will be a gym and an art gallery. Â We have a sustainable supermarket from Amsterdam that won an innovation award - Bilder&deClercq, as well as 2 restaurants. Â Normally real estate boasts high rental fees, but here we have chosen to invest in our peopleâ, explains Pieter van der Horst (Real Estate Developer) during an extensive tour of The Base and its surroundings. Â âCorporate with a Twistâ, echoes with a smile Carolijn Schoofs, New Business Developer, over a cup of delicious Starbucks pumpkin coffee in the bright and spacious atrium of The Base.
âIt was clear to me at that moment, that the original plan of Street Art extension to the walls, bridges and garages with the classic graffiti or murals style would simply not work here. The art pieces had to be gentle, sensitive and exquisite. They must not clash with the carefully planned environment around The Base, and yet, the art should definitely stand out in order to compliment and connect with the playful style of the fun spirit of hardworkling Schiphol Community: from CEO to the street cleaner. Â And thatâs how Office Walk with a Twist was devisedâ, recalls Anna Stolyarova, founder and managing director of Stichting Glamorous Outcasts, project Street Art Museum Amsterdam.
After scouting and carefully analysing every possible location, as well as the artists who could work in non-intrusive and yet surprising way, colourful, funny, striking yet delicate, the conclusion rested on the only man who could pull this job: OakOak from France.
âStreet Art Museum Amsterdam contacted me for this project, which aroused my curiosity: working in a business environment was new for me. Over 200 pictures later, SAMA flew me into Schiphol Airport to study the location together, meet the clients and discuss the possibilities of the artworks. Â A few weeks later, I came back for a week to realise all the pieces we agreed upon. While working, many people stopped to ask questions, out of curiosity, or just continued walking but with a large smile on their faces! Â That made me forget the sometimes cold, rainy and very windy weather!â tells his story OakOak. Â âMy art is interventional and playful. I like giving a new dimension to urban elements to make passers-by smileâ.Â
The art of OakOak is first of all intelligently funny. Â It takes you by surprise and ignites the imagination with its playful, colourful, graceful and extremely sharp simplicity. Secondly, the artist is an expert at carefully measuring locations turning each little masterpiece into a slow cooking alchemistry of engagement. Â OakOak is a collectorâs dream for he draws all of the artworks by hand without any use of technology, thus creating an ultimate original matter without the possibility of duplication.
After almost 9 months of deliberation, we had our baby! Well, the whole litter of them.
Ten pieces were carefully selected, discussed and agreed upon. To supplement the employees engagement we threw into the mix a Calligraphy workshop with TeamBlazin and a Photo-hunt campaign launching in March 2016. The prizes will be given away to those who successfully manage to locate all of the artworks and submit the photographs to Street Art Museum Amsterdam. Â The campaign will be announced in February 2016.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE MAKING OFÂ âOFFICE WALK WITH A TWISTâ