F.A.S.T. – Free Architecture Surf Terrain
F.A.S.T.
Free Architecture Surf Terrain
2009
Crisis. More and more building sites are empty and abandoned. This is not the case at a beautiful spot next to the harbour head in Scheveningen. Between harbour, beach and boulevard, the surf hostel FAST (Free Architecture Surf Terrain) is build. FAST is a project without fixed plans or goal. Unexpected events are incorporated in the project. It continues to develop while being exploited. There are containers and cabins, each with their own functions. Hostel, shop, hospitality, study, kitchen. FAST has become a cultural platform, where families, artists, tourist, surfers, musicians meet, build bridges and sometimes live permanently.
2015
Economy is growing again and The Hague has other plans with the building site. FAST has to close down. October 31 2015 is the last party at the terrain. Doors are closed at 0500 am. In January 2016 the terrain is empty. Waiting for the new owner. A hotel, of which there are so many already.
Published in NRC Handelsblad, August 2015
F.A.S.T. Scheveningen
Free Architecture Surf Terrain
2009
Crisis. More and more building sites stand empty and abandoned. Not this one: on a beautiful spot next to the harbour head in Scheveningen, between harbour, beach and boulevard, volunteers build the surf hostel F.A.S.T. (Free Architecture Surf Terrain) — almost entirely from recycled shipping containers. F.A.S.T. Scheveningen starts as a project without a fixed plan or goal: a simple place to shelter surfers and their boards.
From there, however, the project keeps absorbing unexpected events and developing while people use it. Soon F.A.S.T. Scheveningen grows into a small community with its own artists, entrepreneurs and residents. The site includes a restaurant, a surf shop, a surfboard shaper and a sailmaker for kitesurfers, alongside a skate ramp, a stage and a bunker that serves as a museum.
Containers even hold fifty beds, hosting everyone from surfers to conference guests who cannot find a room elsewhere. Eventually, F.A.S.T. Scheveningen turns into a cultural platform where families, artists, tourists, surfers and musicians meet, build bridges, and sometimes live permanently.
2015
TThe economy recovers, and The Hague has other plans for the site. As a result, F.A.S.T. Scheveningen has to close. October 31, 2015 is the last party on the terrain; the doors close at 5am. By January 2016 the site stands empty, waiting for its new owner — a hotel, of which there are already so many.