Today is Construction Day. Some 160 construction sites across the country are open to the public, including the former shark basin of the old Emmen Zoo.
The open day attracts well-known visitors such as alderman Jisse Otter and lesser-known visitors such as Gloria Sommer-Gras and her husband. Their apartment overlooks the construction site.
“We saw the animals leave and saw the buildings being knocked down. Very nice to see how it is now being rebuilt into a Center for Visual Arts,” says Sommer-Gras.
Many people from the construction company Koenen Bouw stand along the route to answer questions from visitors. One of them is project leader Hilde Millekamp. “Construction is well on schedule. The doors of the CBK will open at the end of the year,” she says, looking around with satisfaction.
Wout van Vilsteren, director of Koenen Bouw, today also brought his family for a look behind the scenes. “It is an opportunity for children and partners to see where their father or mother works. It is also a unique look behind the scenes, because for safety reasons you are not allowed to just enter a construction site.”
A total of four buildings in Drenthe have open houses today. Van Koenen Bouw, this is the only project in Drenthe that is open to the public today. “Of course, people know the former shark basin. Many people have something to do with it. Opening up the construction site is a way for us to give something back to the municipality of Emmen,” says Van Vilsteren.
Sommer-Gras visibly enjoys the tour. “When sharks were still swimming here, there was once a recording with a TV chef. You saw that man really scared when a shark swam towards him. That was very nice to see.”
She made a good impression. “We see cranes driving in and out again. It is very nice to be able to see what is happening here now. Fantastic,” says Sommer-Gras.