Baku hosts evening dedicated to works of Dutch architects

On September 29, the National Art Museum of Azerbaijan hosted an evening dedicated to the works of Dutch architects in Baku, organized by the Embassy of the Netherlands, Report informs.

The event was opened by Ambassador of the Netherlands to Azerbaijan Pauline Eizema.

Famous Azerbaijani and European architects also performed at the evening.

One of the speakers, Doctor of Science, Professor Elchin Aliyev, spoke about the centuries-old ties in the architecture of the two countries. He noted that the building of the republican prosecutor’s office belonged to the British-Dutch concern Royal Dutch Shell and until the 1930s, it housed the consulate of the Netherlands. One of the authors of the House of Government, built in 1936-1952, was a Dutch-born architect, Vladimir Oskarovich Munts, whose father was born into the family of the Consul General of the Netherlands and was a citizen of this country. Also, the mansion of Musa Nagiyev at 39 Fizuli Street was moved by the Dutch company Bresser Eurasia by 10.6 meters on April 23-27, 2013. It was the heaviest building, weighing 18 tons, ever moved by a person.

It is not surprising that the evening took place in the building of the National Museum of Art - the former mansion of Leo Martin de Boer, who was born in a Lutheran family of hereditary Dutch sailors. The building was designed by architects Nikolaus August Ernst von der Nonne and Anton Semyonovich Kandinov in 1889-1891.

Representatives of the UNStudio architectural bureau with their report on the infrastructure projects in Baku, and representatives of the world-famous company Dutch Wheels, which manufactures complex technical structures around the world, also spoke at the event.

One of the indicated complex technical structures is a 60-meter-high Baku Ferris Wheel located in the new part of the Baku Boulevard. Construction of the Ferris Wheel, designed by Dutch Wheels, began in September 2013 and ended on March 12, 2014, when the attraction opened for residents and guests of Baku. It has 30 booths, and each booth is designed for eight people.

The exhibition features the works of such companies as Jos de Vries, as well as the Signify company, which illuminated most of Baku.

The amazing event ended with a concert of classical music composed of works by Azerbaijani and European composers. Famous pianists, laureates of international and republican competitions Gulshan Mehdiyeva and Oksana Gul delighted the guests with their performances.