What’s going on?
Website updates (july 2024)
Info from 360server.site has been moved here. More clear!
Rietveld Houses added! (may 2024)
Can’t have a site with famous Dutch architecture without Rietveld. Therefore pictures were taken from Rietveld’s modernist Erasmuslaan buildings in Utrecht. Once right in view of the Rietveld-Schröder house (of which 4 outside scenes are included), now separated by a highway.
Huis van Ravesteyn added (march 2024)
The full version of this 360 degree project is available on a tablet for visitors of the house, especially for those who can’t go upstairs, but also to conveniently point out details and show the pictures. A smaller three scene version is now available here as well. A very interesting house, designed by railway architect Van Ravesteyn for his own family, and built just a stone’s throw from the Rietveld House.
Site tweaks (january 2024)
As time is money the front page project list now also has links to go straight to the 360 degree project, skipping the project info page.
Automuseum Schagen added (october 2023)
Not for the architecture, but for the design. And as showcase of making 360 degree scenes in narrow spaces: a Jaguar E-Type and a few more cars displayed from the Automuseum Schagen.
Bolwoningen added (september 2023)
Bolwoningen in Den Bosch added! Have a look around the area with 50 orb shape houses. There is no museum house, so this is a chance to look around inside!
More projects coming up! (june 2023)
Apart from some “behind the scenes” improvements, and some projects that are not published here, work has started on two new projects; Thomaskerk in Amsterdam, with a surprising brutalist interior, and Bolwoningen in Den Bosch, which, as opposed to the Rotterdam Cube houses, are round!
To be published in July.
More shots of Amsterdam School (march 2023)
Update on the Amsterdam School project. More pictures of the somewhat less famous “Yellow Block“, nearby “Het Schip”, also designed by De Klerk, slightly earlier. Because this block is only partly designed by De Klerk, and it’s less a “whole” you can walk around (like “Het Schip”), it’s a bit less famous but still it has many striking features and decorations.
More interior shots of Oude Kerk (february 2023)
Finally an update on the Oude Kerk project with added interior scenes. Not completely finished yet, but it’s now possible to get a much more complete picture of the oldest building of Amsterdam. A slide show of the old wood-cut misericords is also included, linked from the High Choir page. Admire the biggest medieval wooden vaults in Europe! And of course, it’s also possible to compare to other churches in 360.
Two Japanese projects ready! (december 2022)
The very small (less than 19m2) Love2 House by Takeshi Hosaka Architects is now available!! See how to live generously on less than 19m2. Japanese elegance! As special “feature” part of the 360 project has seamless embedded video, with the architect talking about the concept. (great with VR!).
A much “bigger” Japanese project is now also added; scenes from four historic houses from the Japan open-Air folk house museum. Great to see the wood carvings, old stable and intriguing roof beam structures!
Tiny updates… (october 2022)
While updating the technical bits of the current projects, plans are made for picturing a very small house very far away. The first Japanese project!
Improved Street View (september 2022)
Although few cool features remain when linking the 360 degree projects to Google Street View, it’s still a way to keep in control of the images that people see when searching places online. The default street view pictures can (in some places) be replaced by 360-architecture pictures. The Van Nelle Factory project for instance, is now connected to the proper “Unesco World Heritage” site, and has over 10K views in a few weeks time. Most projects from this site are added, including the Valley, (over 28K views in a few weeks) and Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen (18K views). Het Schip currently has the record with almost 180K views in little time. It’s helping bringing architecture to people!
Sterre der Zee Basilica extended (august 2022)
During the first shoot of the Maastricht Sterre der Zee basilica the facade was covered in scaffolding. Now the roman style church is largely photographed again, doing more justice to its darkness inside, and also to the brightness of the now added cloister garden. Many more exterior scenes too!
Added “Podium” to Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen project (july 2022)
Three new scenes of the temporary “Podium” on top of “Het Nieuwe Instituut” are added that give a great view on the Depot building. The construction is also designed by MVRDV and will be removed in august 2022. Of course, in the 360 degree project it will be visible forever, and in VR you can even get close to the real experience!
Improved maps now, more Amsterdam School soon..! (july 2022)
Updated the maps system to Mapster, now its possible on any page to zoom out to all projects, and the map page even shows distance between projects!
Updates with new projects and to existing projects coming very soon, including a hidden Amsterdam School gem.
Site now “open” and socials from Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen (june 2022)
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen announced their 360 degree project on their social channels (a.o. LinkedIn) which is also the moment the site is officially open. As any website, it’s flexible, and a work in progress. I’m looking forward to extending and possibly cooperate on further development to bring important architecture within easy view for anyone.
Preliminary preview of “The Valley” (may 2022)
A quick and rough walk ‘over’ the The Valley project in Amsterdam, designed by MVRDV. It’s not completely finished, and neither is the 360 degree project, it will be re-done when it all looks more proper. But just to satisfy the curious people who wonder how this human made Valley looks it’s already available online in first version.
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen available! (may 2022)
Although the outside scenes are still a bit rough looking (the pictures will be re-taken when the area looks neat) the very intriguing MVRDV designed Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is now online! With full support and endorsement of the museum, this became a very nice project that gives a peek into the restoration rooms, the interesting Atrium, and of course a few storage rooms. It also includes some links to artworks on the Boijmans website.
QR codes added (may 2022)
All pages now have a QR code, so you can quickly scan it to your phone. It can also be used for instance to put to the outside of a building, giving people the opportunity to virtually look inside!
Huis Sonneveld 360 & VR available at… Huis Sonneveld (april 2022)
While finishing the very nearby Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen project, Huis Sonneveld has announced the 360 / VR tour on their site. It’s available for people who are less mobile, to enjoy in the Studio, once the study room of the daughters Sonneveld. A VR set or I-Pad will be provided so anyone who can’t climb the narrow stairs can still see the whole house. An audio guide is included.
Vienna International Airport pictured (april 2022)
A brand new lounge at Vienna International Airport was pictured and now made ready for use on the website. It will be very cool, but it is causing a bit delay publishing Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen 360 degree project.
Adding Sterre der Zee Basiliek (now) + Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen (soon)! (march 2022)
While tweaking the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen files (won’t be long now, the building is sensational!) I noticed the Maastricht “Onze Lieve Vrouwe Basiliek” (better known as “Sterre der Zee Basiliek) was shot but never added to this site, while it’s actually one of the oldest buildings of The Netherlands. It’s one of the darkest churches around and recording it was a bit challenging, still very much worth a watch, and perhaps worth a visit!
Many updates! (feb2022)
To enable much better language options and an improved VR experience all projects will be (or have been) updated. It’s mostly “under the hood” changes and not all new features are visible. Some languages are being added, but some parts don’t translate yet. Coming weeks that will be ironed out and the projects will be even nicer to experience for a bigger audience.
Pictures taken for Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen (feb2022)
Soon this very interesting new building, designed by MVRDV and storing over 151000 artworks will be available in 360 degrees and VR! (planned march 2022)
This project will also coincide with the proper launch of this website.
Testing user experience (jan 2022)
VR so far is way too much developed for … well.. developers. I think it’s important to make sure people who don’t play games all day also can find their way through the 360 degree projects, so the interface is also tested on mums!
Audio for Huis Sonneveld (jan2022)
More information has been added to the project of Huis Sonneveld. An audio guide will be available for their VR version at Huis Sonneveld for people who are less mobile and can’t access the house, so anyone can still get a very good experience. 360 projects are great for inclusiveness!
Planning for new projects (dec 2021)
Soon a new addition to the website: a hidden gem by Pierre Cuypers. Early 2022 there will be more new projects!
Keyboard Shortcuts added (nov 2021)
Suggested by a visitor: add keyboard shortcuts to the 360 projects for helping people who can’t use a mouse. Of course, it’s a very good idea, so now a set of shortcuts is available. You can see all by pressing “K” on your keyboard on any 360 degree project. Try it out!
Subtle Next / Previous buttons (nov 2021)
For those who are too lazy to click the hotspots; it’s now also possible to touch or click the lower left or right part of the screen, to go to the previous or next scene. The buttons are only visible when the mouse is hovering, to keep the lay-out tidy.
New project added: Japanese Garden (nov 2021)
Not really architecture, but still quite nice to experience: the Japanese Garden on Park Clingendael in The Hague, which is open only a few weeks each year (just two weeks in 2021). One of the rare sunny days was chosen for taking the pictures, thanks to the nice people who take care of the pretty garden!
Less secret, but still beta (nov 2021)
Although not finished yet (especially a lot of information needs to be added), the site is out of hiding, for a “soft opening”. Still in beta, changes and some errors possible!
Hide thumbnails (oct 2021)
Suggested by a visitor: enable hiding the hotspot thumbnails. this was already possible, but implementation is smoother now. Also the thumbnails are always visible when hovering the hotspot. Toggle the views with the right navigation button. As “bonus”: all help texts glow up when hovering buttons.