This project
lays bare two secrets of the New Dutch Waterline (NDW), a military line of
defence in use from 1815 until 1940 protecting the cities of Muiden, Utrecht,
Vreeswijk and Gorinchem by means of intentional flooding.
A seemingly
indestructible bunker with monumental status is sliced open. The design thereby
opens up the minuscule interi...
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This project
lays bare two secrets of the New Dutch Waterline (NDW), a military line of
defence in use from 1815 until 1940 protecting the cities of Muiden, Utrecht,
Vreeswijk and Gorinchem by means of intentional flooding.
A seemingly
indestructible bunker with monumental status is sliced open. The design thereby
opens up the minuscule interior of one of NDW’s 700 bunkers, the insides of
which are normally cut off from view completely. In addition, a long wooden
boardwalk cuts through the extremely heavy construction. It leads visitors to a
flooded area and to the footpaths of the adjacent natural reserve. The pier and
the piles supporting it remind them that the water surrounding them is not
caused by e.g. the removal of sand but rather is a shallow water plain
characteristic of the inundations in times of war.
The sliced up bunker forms a publicly accessible attraction for visitors
of the NDW. It is moreover visible from the A2 highway and can thus also be
seen by tens of thousand of passers-by each day. The project is part of the
overall strategy of Rietveld Landscape | Atelier de Lyon to make this
unique part of Dutch history accessible and tangible for a wide variety of
visitors.
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