Work of our members

Monumental Sundial

Almere

At the beginning of 2007, when I was secretary of De Zonnewijzerkring, I was requested to assist in the town planning of Almere Poort, “Columbus” quarter.
The plan was to be suitable for children, and to provide for several educational elements.
One such element could be a sundial on a 50m x 30m square.

Further consideration led to an idea featuring three sundials fitting the requirements:
An analemmatic sundial, a block sundial, and a sphere sundial.
All three sundials require some sort of action from the user to read the time, and the constructional elements used – especially in the large block sundial – provide ample opportunities as playground.

About a month later, the first design plans for the square were ready. The figure shows a sketch.

To the middle right is the location of the analemmatic sundial.
An adult or child serves as a gnomon with which to read the time.

From the centre, long hour lines as if for a horizontal sundial run across the square.
Blocks, marked with hour numerals, in turn cast their shadows on their respective hour lines where the time is read.

The implementation of this plan was in 2009. By then, Hendrik Hollander was the new Zonnewijzerkring secretary.
He has detailed the plans, and has supervised their implementation.
By the end of 2009, the square was finished.

The first picture below shows the analemmatic sundial and part of the hour lines fanning out across the square.
The second photograph shows in more detail how the hour line blocks vary in height.

The square itself is built in multiple levels. Bicycle or moped use is practically impossible, which helps in keeping the square suitable for children.