In addition to using organic shapes, modern Dutch buildings also use a lot of glass in skylights and windows. By letting in more natural light, the buildings are once again mimicking nature, but also allowing the Dutch to waste less electricity on indoor lighting.
The community here puts a lot of emphasis on green spaces and the biking culture. In order to meet these specific needs, the Dutch have to build a lot of parking and ramps for bicycles without taking up too much space. They did this by building many different types of bike parking: outdoor racks, indoor racks, and underground parking. By moving most of the car and bike parking underground, the Dutch were able to build a large green park for people to picnic and play sports at.
Dutch architecture has clearly evolved to meet their needs over the years. There are many differences between older and newer buildings. The most notable is simply the size difference between the older buildings and newer ones. Modern Dutch apartment buildings often have anywhere from five to 10 floors, whereas older apartments and stores only have one to three floors. Additionally, the placement of the buildings has changed over the years. Older buildings are often nestled close together, resulting in both smaller buildings as well as narrower streets. Older streets are smaller because cars had not yet been invented so there was no need for wide roads.
I found it interesting to see the wide paved roads morph into narrow cobblestone streets and the towering apartment buildings shrink into crooked, colorful houses.
