Don Hoppenbrouwer

A design for a staple, for the benefit of placing bicycles, based in the Nail Quarter in Arnhem.

The Nail Quarter owes its name to two medieval warehouses, called nails. The word nail goes back to the Latin Word spica that means ear of corn. The nails were used for the storage of the grain harvest. The oldest known nail was called the Dullertspijker (1572 AD). In later centuries it was used as a country estate, with 12 hectares of land around it. The last owner was the Arnhem lawyer, politician and benefactor W.H. Dullert (1817-1881 AD). Dullert sold from 1860 AD plots of land for the benefit of the Arnhem urban sprawl. He sold also the Dullert Nail which was demolished in 1880. It make way for the houses of the Nail Quarter. The Nail Quarter is now, after years of decline, a sought after residential area. The prostitution is beginning 2006 disappeared and many of the monumental homes are renovated.

The idea for the design SPICA 026 is inspired by the image of the Dullert Nail, namesake of the Nail Quarter. The silhouette of the Nail comes back in the staple which is designed especially for the district. The contemporary design of the staple is tailored to the stately and distinguished architecture, typical for the Nail Quarter. A number of proposals are included by the design how to put the staple in series. With simple means, such as applying paving and green, it becomes a landscape element in the built environment. The design is nominated.