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Entrance of the Scheveningen pier. Below the pier. Grand Hotel Amrâth Kurhaus, build between 1884 and 1885, designed by Johann Friedrich Henkenhaf en Friedrich Ebert. Once facing the beach directly, nowadays fully encapsulated by beach Cafes and apartment buildings. This part of the boulevard, the middle, was still awaiting redevelopment at the time. Boulevardgebouw with foodhall, designed by Wim de Bruijn / SYNRG drawing inspiration from the Kurhaus. Developed as in integral part of the Northern boulevard. Scheveningen pier. Installation by sculptor Tom Otterness next to Museum Beelden aan Zee (just out of sight). Lego Giraffe Gigi next to the new Legoland Discovery Centre. Lantern designed by Manuel de Solà-Morales (1939-2012) as part of his redesign of the Southern boulevard. Inntel hotel designed by KCAP, referencing a sailing ship. Intell hotel lobby. Sauna that's part of one of the rooms of the Intell hotel with a view on the surf beach. Scheveningen beach. Ferris wheel and zipline at the pier. Lantern designed by Manuel de Solà-Morales (1939-2012) as part of his redesign of the Southern boulevard. Beach pavilion Soul Sistah, designed by Wim de Bruijn / SYNRG at the end of the Northern boulevard. Grand Hotel Amrâth Kurhaus.





Seaside resort Scheveningen


For decades the Scheveningen boulevard has been a place of which the public image was one of fries and ugly buildings. To counter this image, the municipality of The Hague launched a plan in 2015 to improve the public space and build environment, investing €25 million in public greenery and paving and construction projects.

Back in 2003 the Southern part of the boulevard already had to undergo rigorous transformations due to the need to strengthen the sea wall. Spanish architect Manuel de Solà-Morales (1939-2012) made a design for this area that has been well received. The quality of his design formed the backbone of the 2015 plan.

When photographing the Scheveningen boulevard in 2021, I looked at what historically was already there in combination with, or in contrast to, what has been developed to ‘upgrade’ the boulevard to attract new groups of visitors.

Commissioned by de Volkskrant and published alongside an article by Kirsten Hannema.
Mark