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Four weeks on one highway

Documenting highway E50 France - Russia

ROTTERDAM (NL), August 16th, 2011 - Dutch architect Michel Heesen and photographer Hans Stakelbeek will spend four weeks on European highway E50 Brest - Caspian Sea. Starting on August 31th, Heesen and Stakelbeek will shoot photos and footage of public space, interview waitresses, shopkeepers and bush mechanics and will only eat in road side restaurants.

During this 10,000 km road trip, Heesen and Stakelbeek will give lectures and moderate debates on the future of mobility in ten European cities. The project is co-financed by the Netherlands Architecture Fund. Back in Holland, Heesen and Stakelbeek will present their findings to the governmental board of spatial planners.

In May 2009, Heesen and Stakelbeek (alias kaalenkammen) documented European highway E75 Barentsz Sea - Crete, the longest southbound route in Europe (5,700 km). The two projects offer a cross section of Europe and the different ways in which various countries design mobility. The lectures and debates will take place in Paris, Stuttgart, Prague, Bratislava, Ternopil, Kiev, Donetsk, Istanbul, Milan and Rotterdam.

In each city, Heesen and Stakelbeek will discuss a specific theme. The highways in the metropolitan area of Paris offered inspiration for the recent reconstruction of many highways in the Netherlands. The region of Stuttgart is where Mrs. Benz became the very first automobilist, 125 years ago, sneaking out on her husband Carl Benz. Close to Bratislava, where Porsche and Volkswagen manufacture their executive models, lies the crossing point of European highways E50 and E75. In the Ukraine, the discussions will be about the many cities where reconstructions are taking place because of the UEFA soccer championship 2012. In Milan, Heesen and Stakelbeek will discuss the future of mobility with the designers of studio Pininfarina.

More about the 2009 E75 road trip

European highways, debating on the future of mobility

During their road trip, Heesen and Stakelbeek will give lectures and moderate debates on the future of mobility in a number of European cities.

The first debate will take place in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia and the crossing point of two European routes: E-roads E75 and E50 share the asphalt some 50 km north of Bratislava.

Heesen and Stakelbeek will head on to Ukraine (Ternopil, Kiev and Donetsk) and Russia. After a short break in October, they will halt in Istanbul, Milan, Prague, Stuttgart, Paris and Rotterdam.

A corny postcard from Ukraine? An ugly souvenir from Russia? Find out how you can get one...

The lectures/ debates of ''European highways, debating on the future of mobility'' are co-funded by the Netherlands Architecture Fund (NfA).