After 10 years, Jan van der Zee's monumental staircase has found a new place; at the Reitdiep. Today the work was unveiled. For years it graced the entrance of the Naberpassage on the Grote Markt. Those who went upstairs, ended up at the Boven Jan snack bar. In 2013 the staircase was removed due to the renovation of the east wall of the Grote Markt and it has been in storage ever since.
Over the years, the municipality of Groningen and Kunstpunt Groningen, which manages art in the public space of the municipality, have investigated various possible locations to relocate the stairs, but no suitable place came up. When director of Geveke Harry Leggedoor read in the newspaper in December 2016 that the municipality was looking for a new destination for the concrete artwork, he proposed placing the stairs at his construction project 'Crossroads' on the former ACM site along the Reitdiep. Construction company Geveke was going to build a new apartment complex on this spot.
New location
Kunstpunt Groningen then consulted with the Van der Zee heirs. She and the municipality agreed and the staircase decoration by Jan van der Zee is given a prominent place on the Donghornsterpad cycle path, located between the Friesestraatweg at the height of the railway and the historic ACM cycle bridge. Architect Jakob van Ringen puzzled together with constructors from Geveke to integrate it nicely.
Two street lamps by artist Alexander Schabracq have also found a new place on the site. The two masts were originally located on the Damrak in Amsterdam and were in storage at the municipality of Groningen from 2013.
About the stairs
Ploeg artist Jan van der Zee (1898-1988) designed the staircase at the request of the architectural firm Klein in Groningen, which also designed the entire Naberpassage. The artist made a number of elements in which different abstract geometric shapes alternate. He then placed the ten separate parts one after the other. The repetition of the forms creates a rhythmic whole. The openings in the staircase decoration give the massive relief some 'air'.
The working method of Jan van der Zee can be called special. First, he drew the design in full size. He then made Styrofoam molds for the individual parts, which he reinforced with a wooden formwork. Then the concrete was poured into the molds.