Rotterdam skateparks

The city of Rotterdam is leading the way for all Dutch cities to follow. Not only does Rotterdam offer some of the best street skating in the Netherlands, in the last three years they have built no fewer than FOUR different concrete skateparks! This does not even include the ambitious skate facilities of the neighbouring areas of Dordrecht, Schiedam and Berkel & Rodenrijs, all three of which are great places to go skate!

Concrete Matters is making sure these facilities stay in the best shape possible and provides the city of Rotterdam with yearly maintenance services for it's skate & BMX infrastructure. This year we did small repairs, maintenance & concrete sealing on the beautiful Nesselande skatepark, the Heemraadsingel & Soetendaalseplein bowls.

The Nesselande skatepark in Rotterdam.
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Pooligan country; the infamous Heemraadsingel in Rotterdam.
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The Soetendaalseplein bowl, a perfect bowl for learning how to skate.
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Marnix bowl Amsterdam

The Marnixbowl at the Eerste Marnixplantsoen is considered to be the best concrete bowl of the Netherlands. Ever since it's debut in May 2005 the Marnixbowl has been sessioned by the best skateboarders and BMX-ers from all over the world. Built from pre-fabricated concrete elements this bowl has perfect transitions and a simple yet effective lay-out making it the perfect destination for all who like to ride. For it's tenth birthday the city of Amsterdam asked Concrete Matters to give the concrete bowl a complete maintenance make over.

Concrete Matters used five different steps to give the concrete the full treatment it deserved. First we had to get rid of all the paint & graffiti. After cleaning the entire riding surface we cut out all the seams connecting the pre-fabricated elements. Using special polishing techniques we grinded the entire riding surface giving the concrete a smooth finish again. We reconnected all the separate elements by applying a heavy duty two component artificial mortar. After letting the mortar settle we gave the entire riding surface it's second polish making the surface smoother then it had ever been before. To protect the top surface we used special sodium silicate to seal the concrete giving the smooth finish a longer lifespan. This process took Concrete Matters three weeks from start to finish and has resulted in a smoother then ever before skatebowl in the centre of Amsterdam. We treasure this piece of skateable concrete & look forward to many, many more years of skateboarding & BMX riding in the lovely Marnixbowl!

The Marnixbowl receiving one of it's legendary paintjobs in 2014.
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Step one: cleaning the concrete by removing all graffiti & paint.
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Step two: removing all the seams connecting the individual concrete elements.
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Step three: giving every inch of the riding surface it's first polishpolishing-marnixbowl

Step four, five & six involve filling up the seams and giving the concrete a second, more refined finish. After the concrete has been washed clean from all the dust we then sealed the concrete to give it long lasting protection against the elements and all the mechanical abuse it receives on a daily basis.


Reeshof bowl Tilburg

The Reeshof skatepark was built in 2002 and hadn't  received any maintenance since then. In 2016 the concrete was in such bad shape that stones were exposed everywhere making the skatepark virtually unskateable. Local BMX riders convinced their city to give the skatepark some long needed maintenance, halting the gradual destruction of a once ambitious skatepark. The city of Tilburg went the extra mile and added a little beginner streetcourse to make the restored Reeshof skatepark more diverse then before.

Concrete Matters restored all the concrete in the skatepark, cleaning, grinding and polishing all riding surfaces. Additionally we repaired all cracks & holes and applied a sodium silicate solution to make the concrete more resistant to the abuse it is subject to. This complete renovation process has given this skatepark a second life and it now attracts skaters & children from the entire Brabant area once again. The overview pictures below show the result of the renovation process & the situation before Concrete Matters renovated the Reeshof skatepark.

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tilburg reeshof overzicht