Work of our members

Horizontal sundial

'The best idea of Voorschoten 2008'

This is the title of the contest held by the Voorschoten council in November 2008.
Twenty-two cityscape improvement ideas were submitted, and three were nominated.
On their 2009 New Year reception, the city announced the winning entry.
This was the sundial proposal, entered by our member J.P.C. Hoogenraad.

From the jury rapport:
This idea was chosen because it is feasible, educational, sustainable, innovative and practical.
A sundial is a time-honoured way of telling time using nature.
A sundial is durable, it does not use up energy, and it is very educational.
Young people can learn from a sundial that there exist other, older but practicable techniques beside the present digital ones.

Han Hoogenraad offered to act as intermediary between the City and designer Hendrik Hollander whom he recommended.
The city council unveiled the new sundial on 19 November 2009.

The horizontal sundial, on a fine pedestal, is placed in the small Adegeest Park, located between Bach and Beethoven avenues in Voorschoten.
The sundial is made of black-grey blended granite, the pedestal is olive green granite.

Next to the dial is a explanatory sign and a table.
This equation-of-time table converts the sundial reading into exact civil clock time.

The shadow of the pole style reads daylight saving time (excluding EOT) on the dial face.
The shadow of an index on the style indicates the date on five blue curves.
An additional red curve indicates the date of the annual Voorschoten horse market.
The motto Sine Sole Sileo, Without the Sun I am Silent, complete the sundial.