The end is near for the Walviskaak, the striking bus stop at the Spaarne Gasthuis in Hoofddorp. The costs for a new coating and maintenance are too high. Demolition and replacement by an ordinary bus stop therefore seems to be the only option for the municipality, but not if someone has a good idea for the object.
The huge object, according to some the world’s biggest construction of plastic, was opened almost twenty years ago, the bus stop is a junction between the local bus network and the Zuidtangent and where the stop can withstand a dry head during rainstorms in Hoofddorp, a small rest area has also been set up for bus drivers.
A small kiosk
But that rest area is disappearing. Connexxion announced at the end of last year that it wanted to terminate the lease, so the municipality is looking for a new interpretation of the Whale Jaw. “That space could serve as a small kiosk, for example,” the municipality gives as an example.
They thus appeal to the inhabitants of Haarlemmermeer, ‘Who has a good idea about the interpretation of the Whale Jaw?’
“The costs of maintaining the object do not outweigh the rental income. This means that the municipality would have an annual deficit in the maintenance of the object,” the municipality writes.
Is the end near?
The end therefore seems near, also according to architect Maurice Nio: “In connection with the rising raw material prices, I think that the current cost calculation for a new coating is far too low. My estimate is that the municipality will arrive at more than two tons.”
And so it is up to the inhabitants of Haarlemmermeer to save their beloved Whale Jaw from destruction.