Author Archives: pauldekort

WATEROFFERS (WATER SACRIFICES)

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WATEROFFERS (WATER SACRIFICES)

for Broekpolder in collaboration with PARKLAAN Landschapsarchitecten. Commissioned by the municipals Heemskerk and Beverwijk.

‘Water Sacrifices’ connects the archaeology in the Broekpolder with the OerIJ, with its marshlands, and the water management in the modern suburbs. ‘Water Sacrifices’ introduces new customs and rituals for a modern settlement. Mysterious white stones were found in a historical sacrificial place near the water of the OerIJ. Now, every household in the Broekpolder receives a white ‘sacrificial stone’ from us. This project brings the archaeological and geological story of the landscape together with the extraordinary water system of the Broekpolder suburbs. “If one leaves the polder, the stone will be sacrificed…” Archaeological investigation raises the suspicion that the spatial planning of the pre-historic settlements and sacrificial places in the OerIJ are a mirror-image of the nocturnal starry sky. In today’s Broekpolder, a long singel (the Offersingel) stretched between two roundabouts. The roundabouts form the ‘source’ and the ‘whirl’. In the Offersingel are four concrete (marsh)islands like ‘constellations in the Milky Way’; Hydra, Cygnus, Pisces, and Auriga. The changing water levels in the Offersingel become readable when the islands peek out from the surface of the water. LED lights on the surface of the islands light up at night and paint the different constellations in the Offersingel. A ‘fossil’ water plant, EQUISETUM FLUVIATILE, grows near the island on the banks of the Offersingel. The spores of this plant spread via the water, ‘along the stream…’

Design: 2003/2005
Start construction: 2005
Completion: 2011
Click HERE for a booklet about WATER SACRIFICES (Dutch)

KEERZIJDE (Reverse)

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KEERZIJDE (Reverse)
commissioned by the town Velsen and the county Noord-Holland and in collaboration with the town Beverwijk in spirit of the construction of the Westelijke Randweg (N197) around Beverwijk.

In the 8th century Scheybeeck was already the border between the estates Adrichem and Beverhem. To this day this dune stream forms the municipal border between Velsen en Beverwijk. In the 17th century, Vondel wrote the poem ‘Beecksangh’ at the Scheybeeck and Herman Gorter wrote ‘het heele begin van Mei’ (i.e. ‘the entire beginning of May’) in the spring of 1887 at the Beecksangh estate.

The subtle line of the Scheybeeck is now crossed by the thick line of the Westelijke Randweg. ‘KEERZIJDE’ consists of RVS-strips on floorboards parallel to each other and the road, but perpendicular to the direction of the stream of the brook. Halfway, the strips twist, creating the image of a silver wave rippling through the smooth surface. The strips also represent the page of a strophic* poem. On the side of Beverwijk various strips have the words of Beecksangh by Vondel polished onto them. On the side of Velsen, various lines of Gorter’s ‘May’ can be read. By lifting the line of the Scheybeeck of the Westelijke Randweg, ‘KEERZIJDE’ connects the history of this place with the reality of today. In this sense, it marks a turning point on the border between two towns as a reversal (keerzijde) of contemporary times.

Design: 2010
Construction: May 2011 in collaboration with Segno d’Arte
For more information about this design, see the booklet REVERSE (English)

*A strophe (or verse) is a part of a poem between two blank lines, ‘strophe’ from the Greek -‘strophé’ literally means rotation, revolution or ‘re-verse’.

 

OPEN (POLDER)

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OPEN (POLDER)

A design for the Ooijpolder commissioned by the county Gelderland in spirit of the ‘green and blue services’ (Foundation Via Natura).

A ‘sculptural’ island as land art and lanmark.
An earth rampant with alcoves and denominations forms a typographical image; a word image with an OPEN meaning.
As a landmark, the island will be visible and readable from the moraine east of Nijmegen.
A passer-by can settle in the alcoves and enjoy the sun and the view of the Ooijpolder and the moraine.
Maintenance and upkeep of the work of art are intrinsically linked to the design.
Because the mowing pattern varies, the design of the piece will change over time, at the same time it will enhance the readability.

Sketch design: 2006
Construction: 2010/2011
In collaboration with Van Xanten Advies and Process management Art and Culture
Click here for a booklet about this project (English)

THESAURUS FECTIO

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THESAURUS FECTIO

Commissioned by the county Utrecht and in collaboration with PARKLAAN Landschapsarchitecten.

Near Bunnik, close to the A12 directly situated next to Fort Vechten, a slight slope in the landscape is visible under a small orchard. This slope houses at least seven generations of Roman castella stacked on top of each other. When the Romans conquered Northern Europe shortly before the start of our calendar, this area acted as a base from which they intended to break through to the rest of the north. Here, the Vecht branched from the Rhine, which made it the perfect location for the castellum FECTIO. When conquering the north proved unsuccessful, the Romans pulled back until just behind the Rhine, which had at that point become the northern border of the Roman Empire. A line of castella and watchtowers sprung up using the Limes as a connecting road. This makes Fectio, together with Valkenburg near Den Haag and Nijmegen, one of the oldest, biggest and most important Roman castella in The Netherlands. As opposed to many other sights of the Roman presence, this area has maintained free from development. It is not hard to imagine that beneath this ground is an extraordinary treasure room (Thesaurus).

Click HERE for more information. (Dutch)

DEJA VU

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DEJA VU

Reconstruction of Huize Moerenburg, Tilburg. In collaboration with MTD Landschapsarchitecten, Ed Kooiman and Joost van Hezewijk.

Giving history a small push, the image of Huize Moerenburg (based on a single painting from 1700) coincides almost perfectly with the helophyte filter in today’s landscaping plan by MTD. By projecting the monumental axis of the area, the functional layout of the helophyte filter grows into a visual echo of the monumental baroque garden in the painting. I am of the opinion that this is why this painting of Huize Moerenburg is the legitimacy for MTD’s design. If we don’t keep the painting in mind, park Moerenburg loses its ‘pointe’. The painting is a part of it, literally! Not the reconstruction of Huize Moerenburg, but the painting itself, with its wooden and distorted perspective, should be decisive for the design. The house and garden come from a Renaissance and Baroque era. These cultural movements ran from around 1600 until 1750 in Northern Europe, the era of the Enlightenment in Europe. Many discoveries and inventions are done in both the sciences and arts, like for instance the central perspective. Distorted avenues are constructed in the parks, which makes them look longer or shorter, and makes buildings look more imposing.
With my contribution from the visual arts, I’d like to incorporate this distorted perspective in the CorTen steel construction of the reconstruction of Huize Moerenburg, like ‘trompe-l’oeil’, a ‘deceiving eye’.
If you stand on the raised surface, looking out over the helophyte filter with the distorted perspective, it is almost like experiencing déjà vu, like looking at the painting from 1700. It is not just the space that is distorted, but time gets a little push as well. The sun dial is not pointed perpendicular towards the south, but it still gives the right sun time.

Plan period 2010
Click HERE for more background information. (Dutch)

ZAND NAAR KLEI (SAND TO CLAY)

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ZAND NAAR KLEI (SAND TO CLAY)
Commissioned by the municipal Westvoorne, Mediation KunstenBedrijf.

The new building project Elisabethhof in Oostvoorne is situated in the transition of dune landscape to polder.
This fact has been taken into consideration when designing the street pattern that has been constructed of light yellow and grey brick stones, ‘sand and clay’.
Gradually, the flowing forms of the dunes morph into the straight lines of the polder landscape. Big oval shapes form naturally in this transitional area.
Four of these ovals are lifted from the pavement as kind of planting trays. Wooden duckboards are integrated into the oval shapes, functioning as seating areas.
Piet Oudolf designed the planting in the oval shapes.

Read more about this project in an INTERVIEW with Kunst en Bedrijf.
Read the article KUNST MET KLINKERS in the magazine STRAATBEELD, September 2010
For more information about the backgrounds and details, see ZAND NAAR KLEI design;

Construction spring 2009 in collaboration with Segno d’Arte
Photography: Kees AB

YGGDRASIL

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YGGDRASIL

MENTAL LANDSCAPES Yggdrasil, Asgard und Vanaheim
Submission for a competition Danevirke+Haithabu, commissioned by Schleswig Holstein (D). In collaboration with B+B.

The Danevirke is a defence wall from the early Middle Ages near today’s border between Germany and Denmark. The settlement Haithabu was a port with trade relations and thus had cultural connections as far as the Middle East. However, in today’s landscape the relics of Danevirke and Haithabu are so well hidden it is hard to distinguish them. They have a similar hidden presence in our history, because what does the average European know about Scandinavian culture and Vikings from the early Middle Ages? Danevirke and Haithabu are on German territory since the 19th century, but are not as much part of the German history as they are of Danish and Scandinavian traditions. Their weak image and subtle presence gives them a difficult starting position to present themselves against outside pressures. We view the subtle presence of these relics as an extraordinary quality, but suggest making a deep impact in the mental landscape. There is much interest in (literary) history in and of the landscape, and love for the historical novel is growing. This is why, besides placing new relics and rituals in the landscape, we want to invite a novelist to write a historical novel that shows Viking culture in its many different aspects and besides gives an idea about the broad trade relations of Haithabu.

Design period; September – October 2009
Click HERE for a booklet about YGGDRASIL (German)

HET GETIJDENPARK VAN SAENDELFT

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THE BREVIARY PARK OF SAENDELFT

commissioned by municipal Zaanstad.

Saendelft is an extended residential area of the historical linear settlement Assendelft (in Noord-Holland). The urban planning project of Saendelft is based on the medieval battle-landscape of the polders around Assendelft. If we look further into the history of this area, we’ll see that the OerIJ, as a tidal channel, used to be connected to the North Sea.

The urban planning project of Saendelft is characterised by long, green strips between the building blocks, called ‘Groene Dragers’ (or ‘Green Carriers’). Because of these strips, the horizon is present throughout the neighbourhood. In various places, big oval spaces are situated over these ‘green carriers’. The ovals are slightly turned facing away from the green. Oval 1 is the designated area for this project and is located in Saendelft West, in ‘Parkrijk’. Striking about Oval 1 is its exact orientation into a north-south direction. This enables the oval to free itself from the haphazard direction of the urban planning grid and point, like a compass needle, towards the earth’s magnetic field. This way, it embeds Saendelft and its residents in a greater, cosmic context.

Sketch design: 2008
Unveiling: 21 June 2009 at 13.41h
For more information about background and details, see HET GETIJDENPARK VAN SAENDELFT (English)
For a detailed explanation on the sundial, see ANALEMMA (Dutch)
Execution and realisation in collaboration with Segno d’Arte

WASTELAND/WARLAND/WETLAND

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WASTELAND/WARLAND/WETLAND

Commissioned by Waterboard Brabantse Delta ism NBKS

The waterboard Brabantse Delta combines its job as water manager with a fair amount of attention to nature and culture. Between 2004 and 2008, it has helped construct nature friendly banks and spawning beds along the Mark and Dintel. In the background of these constructions a piece of land art adorns the western banks of the Mark between Breda and Terheyden.
WASTELAND WARLAND WETLAND connects the past, the present and the future of this area.
• The artwork connects nature development on the ‘mowing field’ with the former riverbed beneath.
• It displays the archaeology of the 17th and 18th century next to the current water management.
• It links former floodings and inundations to the water storage of today and tomorrow.
• It links ecology and hydrology to land art.

The plot ‘folds’ beneath the pressure of the many contradicting interests in this area, such as agriculture versus estate, nature versus industry, urbanisation versus an open landscape, today’s developments covering the tracks of yesterday. There is a tension between the artificial and the natural, between management and a ‘natural course’, between order and chaos, expediency and uselessness, ‘dream and deed’ …

Design: 2003
Realisation: 2007/2008
Click here to read more about this project.