A development map for Blauwestad has launched. I spoke with Mirjam Pijning about how this map came together.
A group of geese flies overhead and their sound emphasizes how calm it is here. I am near Blauwestad’s harbor, walking across a broad pier. A few boys are playing on the beach and further ahead someone is walking his dog. It honestly feels a bit like a holiday.
I am walking the area with Mirjam Pijning, freelance designer and copywriter for Projectbureau Blauwestad.
Construction in the area is moving fast, and that is exactly why we are here today. I interview Mirjam about her experience with Wolf Maps and her personal fascination with maps.
Blauwestad is a new village in East Groningen.
In the late 1980s, agriculture in this area struggled. Farmers had no successors, young people left, and unemployment rose. To make the region attractive again, plans were made for a landscape combining nature, housing, and recreation. In 2005, farmland was flooded, creating Oldambt Lake, the foundation of Blauwestad.
The next step was preparing and selling plots. But after the 2008 financial crisis, growth almost stopped.
In 2015, the strategy changed due to disappointing growth. To attract more residents, the project moved beyond selling private plots and allowed developers to build and sell homes. Sales started improving.
A second growth wave came during Covid. Remote work became normal quickly. As distance mattered less, many people saw the benefit of living outside the city with more space. Housing sales accelerated strongly.
The area is now being built and prepared at high speed. So they needed a way to communicate progress clearly to residents and stakeholders. I was asked by project leaders and the project office to design an infographic showing planned work for the coming years.
After a short brainstorm we concluded an interactive map was the best solution.
And what I find very strong is that it simply looks great.
Blauwestad already had an interactive plot map with all parcels. One idea was to merge that with the new development map, but both served different purposes.
So we asked ourselves if we should have a fully custom map developed for construction activities. Custom software often takes a lot of time, and we did not have that. It was also unclear if the investment made sense.
So we kept looking. Pretty quickly I thought of you. I had seen your work on LinkedIn and that stuck with me. So I reached out.
A first version was live in no time. In Blauwestad, things change every year, so information gets outdated quickly. What is great about Wolf Maps is the high-quality satellite imagery that updates annually, so everyone can follow progress. And yes, it also just looks very good.
Good. It is user-friendly, and when needed I got help quickly. We were one of the first customers, so not everything was perfect yet.
My graduation thesis was about the art of travel, with Land Art as an important theme. Land Art focuses on organic materials in landscapes and turning them into art. Studying it taught me to recognize patterns in landscape and nature, which inspires me as a designer.
Examples include Broken Circle Spiral Hill by Robert Smithson near Emmen, work by Richard Long, and even the Wilgenborg in Blauwestad designed by artist Merijn Vrij.
A map is already an art form by itself.
I used to travel a lot in Ireland and Scotland, often with paper maps. That feels magical. In hilly and mountainous areas, contour lines create beautiful patterns that feel artistic. A map is an art form in itself.
I still design maps occasionally. In 2015, for example, I created an illustrated map for Xpeditie Blauwestad, the festival celebrating Blauwestad’s 10-year anniversary.
I also love walking. I organize walks in small groups, so maps and routes remain part of my daily work. Fresh air and movement increase creative flow.
Mirjam and I continue our walk in Reiderwolde, a nature area east of Blauwestad. We keep talking about outdoors, design, and birds. Meanwhile, the Blauwestad work-in-progress map is live.
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