Designed and built between 1925 and 1931 on the banks of a canal in the Spaanse Polder industrial zone north-west of Rotterdam, Van Nelle Factory is considered a prime example of the International Style, and an example of Nieuwe Bouwen, modern architecture in the Netherlands, influenced by Russian Constructivism. Prominent architects described it as "the most beautiful spectacle of the modern age" (Le Corbusier in 1932) and "a poem in steel and glass" (Robertson and Yerbury in 1930).
The site comprise a complex of factories, with façades consisting essentially of steel and glass, making large-scale use of the curtain wall principle. Van Nelle Factory was conceived as an "ideal factory", open to the outside world, whose interior working spaces evolved according to need, and in which daylight was used to provide pleasant working conditions. It embodies the new kind of factory that became a symbol of the modernist and functionalist culture of the inter-war period.
The buildings were designed by architect Leendert van der Vlugt from the Brinkman & Van der Vlugt office in cooperation with civil engineer J.G. Wiebenga. In the 20th century it processed coffee, tea and tobacco and later on additional chewing gum, cigarettes, instant pudding and rice, but the operation stopped in 1996. Currently it houses a wide variety of new media and design companies and is known as the Van Nelle Design Factory. In 2015, the Van Nelle Factory topped the list of The 25 Most Beautiful Factories in the World.
About the stamp
The stamp is part of the second series dedicated to postcrossing, issued on March 29, 2016. The ten featured sights are:
• the Delta Works
• the Wadden Islands
• Hoge Veluwe National Park
• the Binnenhof [Inner Court]
• the Dutch cheese market in Alkmaar
• the flower bulb fields
• Giethoorn
• Marken
• Zaanse Schans - It's on the postcard 2840
• The Night Watch, by Rembrandt
The Postcrossing stamps are marked 'International 1', the denomination for mail items up to 20g in weight with international destinations.
References
Tilburg - Wikipedia
Van Nellefabriek - UNESCO official website
Sender: Mike Noordam
Sent from Tilburg (North Brabant / Netherlands), on 17.10.2016
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