Matthew Cook
@matthew-cook.bsky.social
Rotterdam resident, British born. Architecture trained, working in urban design/planning. Interested in architecture, cities, ecology, politics. Ik moet mijn Nederlands meer gebruiken.
Reposted by Matthew Cook
🚨 New blog post: How Rotterdam Shaped Social Housing: Part I, the Justus van Effen Estate and ‘Streets in the Sky’
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/h...
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/h...
November 11, 2025 at 7:43 AM
🚨 New blog post: How Rotterdam Shaped Social Housing: Part I, the Justus van Effen Estate and ‘Streets in the Sky’
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/h...
municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/h...
This is good news. Dutch house building has been too focused on big family homes. Meanwhile empty nesters have been stuck in family homes for lack of a nice apartment to move into. Building apartments creates extra family homes.
The number of new housing projects made up entirely of apartments has almost doubled in recent years, while developments dominated by large family homes have sharply declined./
Dutch developers are building more flats than family homes - DutchNews.nl
The number of new housing projects made up entirely of apartments has almost doubled in recent years, while developments dominated by large family homes have sharply declined, according to new…
www.dutchnews.nl
November 8, 2025 at 8:56 AM
This is good news. Dutch house building has been too focused on big family homes. Meanwhile empty nesters have been stuck in family homes for lack of a nice apartment to move into. Building apartments creates extra family homes.
As a fellow 34 year old, of course Mamdani chose the location from the end of Men In Black for his announcement
November 5, 2025 at 8:08 PM
As a fellow 34 year old, of course Mamdani chose the location from the end of Men In Black for his announcement
My mate is at nice restaurant with his wife and there is a guy being an arsehole on the next table, apparently he sent his steak back for being cold after having ignored it for 5 minutes to look at his phone. Waiters are glaring. Anyway looks like it was toooby young
October 31, 2025 at 10:27 PM
My mate is at nice restaurant with his wife and there is a guy being an arsehole on the next table, apparently he sent his steak back for being cold after having ignored it for 5 minutes to look at his phone. Waiters are glaring. Anyway looks like it was toooby young
The museum closed for renovations in 2019! After 6 years of work they finally have a definitive design, which might be open 6 years from now. This project has been terrible for Rotterdam culture, a whole generation of school kids missing out
October 31, 2025 at 8:17 AM
The museum closed for renovations in 2019! After 6 years of work they finally have a definitive design, which might be open 6 years from now. This project has been terrible for Rotterdam culture, a whole generation of school kids missing out
I don't get a vote but I did get to take a #dogsatpollingstatoions #hondenbijhetstembureau photo!
October 29, 2025 at 7:37 PM
I don't get a vote but I did get to take a #dogsatpollingstatoions #hondenbijhetstembureau photo!
The Dutch ballot paper (this is a dummy ballot) might just be the largest in the world
October 29, 2025 at 10:14 AM
The Dutch ballot paper (this is a dummy ballot) might just be the largest in the world
Maybe it's anglocentrism but this headline is framed very oddly. The PVV could finish first but with 25% less seats and no viable coalition. The Dutch call that losing. Wilders also wants to claim that <20% vote share is a win and it's undemocratic he's not in power, but it's just trumpian nonsense
October 29, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Maybe it's anglocentrism but this headline is framed very oddly. The PVV could finish first but with 25% less seats and no viable coalition. The Dutch call that losing. Wilders also wants to claim that <20% vote share is a win and it's undemocratic he's not in power, but it's just trumpian nonsense
In the last decade a weird demographic crossover has begun, with the boomer generation's electoral dominance fading. They were never going gently into the night and still have electoral heft so I guess we have another decade plus of close, split, results like this
Brutal age split - clearer if you bin into blocs (LAB+LD+GP+PC:CON+REF)
24-49 = 67|28
50-64 = 46|50
So, cross-over point ~50+
Note, Wales is older than England (median age 42 vs 40) and the electorate is a bit older than that, but the different is turnout propensity x age.
24-49 = 67|28
50-64 = 46|50
So, cross-over point ~50+
Note, Wales is older than England (median age 42 vs 40) and the electorate is a bit older than that, but the different is turnout propensity x age.
October 24, 2025 at 7:09 AM
In the last decade a weird demographic crossover has begun, with the boomer generation's electoral dominance fading. They were never going gently into the night and still have electoral heft so I guess we have another decade plus of close, split, results like this
Dutch general elections are two weeks away and great fun for UK election nerds as it's basically the inverse of how the UK does it. These ad boards are up across the country listing all the parties running. Over a dozen of these could get seats. There are always new ones or ones I've not heard of.
October 14, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Dutch general elections are two weeks away and great fun for UK election nerds as it's basically the inverse of how the UK does it. These ad boards are up across the country listing all the parties running. Over a dozen of these could get seats. There are always new ones or ones I've not heard of.
Fun afternoon yesterday at the Groen Doeners Fesitvaal at Oase in Rotterdam. Nature isn't in some farmers field, it's in the cracks between us all
October 12, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Fun afternoon yesterday at the Groen Doeners Fesitvaal at Oase in Rotterdam. Nature isn't in some farmers field, it's in the cracks between us all
On Friday I saw Transmutation at AFFR, 50 minutes of limestone mining, quarrying and processing. It was essentially a @machinepix.bsky.social super cut which was perfect after a long week's work
youtu.be/gV2O81SHJMU
youtu.be/gV2O81SHJMU
TRANSMUTATION - Trailer - Bêka & Lemoine
YouTube video by Beka Lemoine
youtu.be
October 12, 2025 at 7:33 AM
On Friday I saw Transmutation at AFFR, 50 minutes of limestone mining, quarrying and processing. It was essentially a @machinepix.bsky.social super cut which was perfect after a long week's work
youtu.be/gV2O81SHJMU
youtu.be/gV2O81SHJMU
Reposted by Matthew Cook
Just last week, in Milan...
September 30, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Just last week, in Milan...
the phrase the Boris Wave has been going around a bit but I only just realised what it meant. I had thought it was boriswave and I was imagining clips of a mop haired Johnson overlaid with a VHS filter and dreamy music, nostalgic for 2019
September 24, 2025 at 7:16 AM
the phrase the Boris Wave has been going around a bit but I only just realised what it meant. I had thought it was boriswave and I was imagining clips of a mop haired Johnson overlaid with a VHS filter and dreamy music, nostalgic for 2019
Brits got a pretty easy ride in NL to get permanent residency post brexit, and it was still proper hard work to get it. The idea that ILR could be taken away from people who have made such a huge commitment to the UK is simply insulting.
September 22, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Brits got a pretty easy ride in NL to get permanent residency post brexit, and it was still proper hard work to get it. The idea that ILR could be taken away from people who have made such a huge commitment to the UK is simply insulting.
My first memory of capital A Architecture is Grimshaw's RAC tower at the M5/M4 junction near Bristol. Seen from the back seat of a car it felt like the future. My appreciation for that building and all of Grimshaw's work has only grown over the years. Truly he was one of Britain's best architects.
September 16, 2025 at 1:17 PM
My first memory of capital A Architecture is Grimshaw's RAC tower at the M5/M4 junction near Bristol. Seen from the back seat of a car it felt like the future. My appreciation for that building and all of Grimshaw's work has only grown over the years. Truly he was one of Britain's best architects.
Handig dat de oude Blokker waterkoker kapot gaat net nadat Blokker terug is
August 28, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Handig dat de oude Blokker waterkoker kapot gaat net nadat Blokker terug is
new business idea, dick and dom in da bungalow escape room
August 23, 2025 at 5:22 PM
new business idea, dick and dom in da bungalow escape room
Exactly 10 years ago I moved to the Netherlands, I was not expecting to be here a whole decade later with a partner, a dog, and a whole life. It is freaking my nut!
August 16, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Exactly 10 years ago I moved to the Netherlands, I was not expecting to be here a whole decade later with a partner, a dog, and a whole life. It is freaking my nut!
I'm (finally) reading City of Quartz, and I'm not sure I could find a more suitable spot in the Netherlands to read it if I tried
August 11, 2025 at 8:37 AM
I'm (finally) reading City of Quartz, and I'm not sure I could find a more suitable spot in the Netherlands to read it if I tried
Reposted by Matthew Cook
This great FT piece correctly identifies the lack of stewardship in designing new settlements. We probably do need development corporations for new towns, but a more active planning later would already help a lot. I made this thread about it a couple of months back
www.ft.com/content/e5d0...
www.ft.com/content/e5d0...
August 9, 2025 at 8:15 AM
This great FT piece correctly identifies the lack of stewardship in designing new settlements. We probably do need development corporations for new towns, but a more active planning later would already help a lot. I made this thread about it a couple of months back
www.ft.com/content/e5d0...
www.ft.com/content/e5d0...
The consequence of temporarily super abundant energy is really interesting. As the share of renewable electricity increases, finding a use for huge excesses of electricity at irregular times will likely become very important
And this misunderstanding leads to ignoring one of the big opportunities brought by renewables: sometimes it gives us really cheap electricity. Such as: today!
There is a huge opportunity here that we should learn to take advantage of...
bsky.app/profile/cele...
There is a huge opportunity here that we should learn to take advantage of...
bsky.app/profile/cele...
Free electricity until 1630!
August 6, 2025 at 2:26 PM
The consequence of temporarily super abundant energy is really interesting. As the share of renewable electricity increases, finding a use for huge excesses of electricity at irregular times will likely become very important
Amsterdam has decided to take a much more industrial approach when it comes to My Fair Lady
August 1, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Amsterdam has decided to take a much more industrial approach when it comes to My Fair Lady
UK political parties are missing out on abbreviated phrases for names, I mean come on, who doesn't want to be called PvdA/GL?
Zarah Sultana: “I think it should be called "The Left" or "The Left Party", because it says what it is on the tin. That is something I will be pitching.”
Is "the left party" a better party name than eg "Equality" or "Humanity" or "Fairness" or "Justice" or "Unity" or "People" or some other claim?
Is "the left party" a better party name than eg "Equality" or "Humanity" or "Fairness" or "Justice" or "Unity" or "People" or some other claim?
July 30, 2025 at 9:31 AM
UK political parties are missing out on abbreviated phrases for names, I mean come on, who doesn't want to be called PvdA/GL?