Near the entrance of De Tjongerschans hospital Edwin Zwakman ordered a hole to be dug. The hole measures 4 by 7m in area and 3m 50cm in depth and runs under the glass facade of the entrance area towards the entrance hall. A thick plate of glass covers the hole so that one can walk over it. The hole offers one a view of the underground infrastructure of the hospital with its wiring and sewer system. A pile that makes up part of the facade’s foundations is also visible. The hole furthermore bears significant metaphorical meaning in the sense that it refers the archetypal gap that one has to cross when confronting one’s fear of the unknown. After all, the minute one enters a hospital, one never knows in what state one will leave it. The hole makes tangible what would otherwise remain literally and figuratively invisible, namely, the underground space of the building and the uncertainty of one’s physical and mental wellbeing.

Edwin Zwakman
Het Gat (The Hole)

photo: Edwin Zwakman

photo: Edwin Zwakman

Along with this work of art, a book was published including a piece by Marianne Brouwers and an interview with architect Henk de Jong. Lay out by: Richard Niessen and Esther de Vries.

Edwin Zwakman