Aquatecture: Water-based Architecture In The Netherlands
Aquatecture: Water-based Architecture in the NetherlandsRebecca PasternackArchitecture 590May 8, 20091
Table of ContentsIntroduction. 3Psychology of Living on the Water . 3Folklore . 4Psychology. 5Climate Change and Water . 7Rising Sea Levels. 8Land Reclamation . 13The Netherlands. 14Geography. 14Land Reclamation – the Netherlands. 15Dutch urban planning. 17Dutch Architecture. 18Water-based architecture typology. 21Category 1: Stationary Projects . 23Category 2: Floating Projects. 24Category 3: Floating Mobile Projects . 27New Orleans . 29History. 31Suggestions for the future . 32Conclusions. 35Works Cited. 36Appendix A - Glossary . 38Appendix B – Master list of Dutch projects . 402
IntroductionThe term “Aquatecture” refers to architecture associated with the element of water. Itimplies an awareness of the architectonic qualities that water can provide, as well as, anappreciation of the water element in its architectural context.1 Whether or not the project isconstructed is irrelevant. Aquatecture can refer to projects that currently in the conceptual phase,(like the Floating Mosque off the coast of Dubai) or to ones that are already well-establishedprototypes, like houseboats.2 This paper is an exploration of the concept of Aquatecture using theNetherlands as a case study. It begins with a section on the psychology of living on the water,and then transitions to an explanation about how climate change is related to the need for waterbased architecture. Next, the paper will provide background information on Dutch urbanplanning and Dutch vernacular architecture. This will lay the foundation for the next section,which describes my own typology for classifying water-based architecture world-wide, but witha focus on specific contemporary projects in the Netherlands. Finally, the paper will concludewith an exploration of how these ideas can be used in flood-prone areas of the United States,such as, New Orleans.Figure 1: Floating Mosque off the coast of Dubai by Dutch architecture firm s/waterstudiomosque.jpg)Psychology of Living on the WaterThis section explores our fascination with the mysteries of the ocean. Both the desire toexplore the depths of the sea and the fear of the ravages of the sea (flooding), have always1The term Aquatecture is originally from Anthony Wylson’s book Aquatecture, written in 1986.The Floating Mosque is an in-progress project by Dutch architecture firm Waterstudio. I will be meeting witharchitect Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio this July 2009 at his firm in Rijswijk, Amsterdam.23
captivated people. Like space exploration, the desire to explore and colonize the ocean’s depthsstems from the human desire to explore the unknown.3 In addition, for many, living on the waterrepresents a type of utopia, a place untroubled by problems found in civilizations on land.FolkloreWater plays a central role in the mythology, religion, and rituals of all cultures. Manycultures world-wide have folklore which shows that water can be both a creator and destroyer oflife. Creation stories, for example, have generated a wealth of water-related myths.4 These mythsoften share the same contradictory attitudes of fear and fascination with the water, a dichotomywhich is an important part of folklore all around the world. For example, in the Ancient Greekepic poem The Odyssey, water creatures are sharply divided into good (i.e. mermaids) and evil(i.e. sea monsters).5 In addition, in many creation stories, there are repeated descriptions of thedestruction of life by a catastrophic flood.6 The obvious example of course, is the biblical storyof Noah’s ark, in which Noah builds a houseboat large enough to accommodate a farmyard, anaquarium, an aviary, and a zoo.7 (Figure 2)Figure 2: Noah’s ark in a woodcarving by Jost Ammann, 1567 (Flesche, 10)3Waterhouse coins the term “aquanaut,” which is similar to the idea of an “astronaut.” (Flesche, 12)In Indian mythology, for example, the Hindu divinity Vishnu descends into the water and raises up the earth. In theJudeo-Christian tradition, G-d creates the world by separating the heavens and the earth. In Ancient Greek tales ofthe gods, the sea god, Pontos, is born at the same time as the heavens. (Flesche, 11)5The Sirens in The Odyssey sing beautiful songs, which, combined with their magical beauty, lure sailors into thewaves. Another example of this dichotomy of fear and fascination with the water is Hans Christian Andersen’sstory, The Little Mermaid in which a young mermaid gives up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid togain a human soul and the love of a human prince. The love proves fatal, however, and she dissolves into sea foam.6Our fear of flooding is still very real today, as scientists warn us about the consequences of global warming. Thefear of a potential apocalypse has been envisioned in recent films like the 2004 apocalyptic science-fiction film TheDay After Tomorrow, which depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming and global cooling. The 1995 filmWaterworld “went a step further with its representation of life in a distant future when water covers the whole earthand memories of civilizations on dry land are dismissed as fairytales. The survivors build primitive floating islandsfrom flotsam left behind by the great catastrophe. The people live as water nomads and adapt to their new habitat,developing webbed feet and gills through mutation. The future seems to be a replay of the past.” (Flesche, 11)7See section on houseboats, in Typology section.44
PsychologyThroughout history, living on the water has symbolized the dream of living in asymbiotic relationship with nature, much closer than would ever be possible on dry land.8Historically, the vastness of the ocean has been a source of fascination for many as it represents,among other things, the desire to “live life in accordance with nature and cosmic constellations.”9Perhaps the earliest example of this fantasy is the legendary island of Atlantis.10 (Figure 3)Despite what scientists and scholars tell us, our collective desire to believe in the existence ofthis supposed prehistoric lost civilization never goes away. This is evidenced by the fact thatAtlantis was the name given to the first U.S. vessel dedicated to oceanographic research. It isalso the name of an American space shuttle currently in assembly, as well as, a series of resorthotels in Dubai and in the Bahamas.11Figure 3: Vision of Atlantis based on Plato’s description. Plato described Atlantis as alternating rings of sea andland with a palace in the center. (Flesche, 8)Atlantis is important because it is perhaps the most famous example of a water utopia. SirThomas More first coined the term utopia (which is derived from the Greek “utopie” whichliterally means “no place”) in 1516 in his book Utopia, which defined a utopia as an ideal,8Flesche, 8Flesche, 810Our only historical source on Atlantis is Plato’s Timaeus dialogue, in which he states that Atlantis was a navalpower lying in front of the Pillars of Hercules [phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flankthe entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar] that conquered many parts of Western Europe and around 9600 BC. After afailed attempt to invade Athens, Atlantis sank into the ocean in a single day and night of tml)11See http://www.atlantis.com/ and http://www.examiner.com/x-504-Space-News-Examiner h-Discovery-heads-home for more information.95
imaginary island nation with exemplary community life.12 In 1623, English philosopher FrancisBacon imitated this concept in his utopian novel, The New Atlantis, in which he describes anideal social state on an island called New Atlantis situated nowhere in the known world. Like thestories by More and Bacon, all utopia fantasies share the underlying assumption that life in aself-sufficient miniature state will bring with it greater personal and political freedom. In thisway, it seems that people on land project their longing for greater independence onto the wideopen spaces of the sea and its islands. Part of the appeal might be the idea of living in a no man’sland without any form of legal jurisdiction, or at least, the idea of creating a new society whichwill abide by a new set of rules.13Today too, many water-based projects have a social and political message. Oneprominent example is the utopian project The Venus Project, which operates out of a 21-acreproperty in Venus, Florida.14 (Figure 4) The Venus Project was started around 1975 by selfdescribed futurist Jacque Fresco and former portrait artist Roxanne Meadows.15 The project wasfounded on the idea that poverty is caused by the stifling of technological advancements, whichitself is caused by the present world's profit-driven economic system. Fresco theorizes that if oureconomic system allowed technology to progress, more resources would be available to morepeople. This new-found abundance of resources would reduce the human tendency towardindependence and greed, and would instead make people more likely to help each other.1612Flesche, 9Historically, utopian colonies tend to fail. The Transcendentalists in 19th century America inspired the founding ofseveral utopian colonies, al of which failed. In the late 19th century, while Victorian social critic John Ruskin wasstill alive, several utopian socialists colonies sprouted in the U.S. with the goal of realizing Ruskin’s vision ofperfect egalitarian and communalist societies. These colonies all failed however, because they didn’t actuallyconcern themselves with the manner in which the societies could be created or sustained.14There are many other examples of utopian projects that are currently in the conceptual design phase. Anotherfascinating project is Lilypad, a floating ecopolis for climate refugees by Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut.Lilypad is a prototype of self-sufficient amphibious city. It is intended to be an amphibian half-aquatic and halfterrestrial city able to accommodate 50,000 inhabitants. This floating Ecopolis is expected to house future climaticrefugees (people from low-lying countries that will be sub-merged in the near g-lilypad.html)15Jacque Fresco is an industrial designer, “social engineer,” author, lecturer, futurist, and inventor. He has workedas both designer and inventor in a wide range of fields spanning from biomedical innovations to totally integratedsocial systems. He believes his ideas would benefit the greatest number of people with minimal waste. Some of hisideas stem from his formative years during the Great Depression. To this day, he writes and lectures extensively onsubjects ranging from the holistic design of sustainable cities, energy efficiency, natural resource management andadvanced automation, and focuses primarily on the benefits it will bring to ure/27800)16The website for The Venus Project reads like a manifesto. Here is one section: “The Venus Project advocates analternative vision for a sustainable new world civilization unlike any social system that has gone before. Althoughthis description is highly condensed, it is based upon years of study and experimental research by many, many136
a)b)Figure 4: (a) Renderings of The Venus Project (b) )Climate Change and WaterAs the previous section explained, our desire to live on the water is related to our searchfor utopia. Though the sense of adventure is still with us, today there is a more urgent reason toexplore the possibility of living the water: the problem of rising sea levels is threatening toinundate the coastal areas of many low-lying areas of the world. (Figure 5) Because increasedflooding is destroying waterfront properties in these areas, many architects are designingbuildings intended to float with the sea in the event of high tide.17 In addition, the problem of theever-increasing global population means that it is increasingly difficult to build enough housingfor everyone.18 This is why many progressive thinkers are trying to exploit the water as a viablelocation for human life.people from many scientific disciplines. The Venus Project proposes a fresh approach--one that is dedicated tohuman and environmental concerns. It is an attainable vision of a bright and better future, one that is appropriate tothe times in which we live, and both practical and feasible for a positive future for all the world's ut.php)17The issue of rising sea levels raises another question: how is climate change affecting the actual quality of theocean water or life in the ocean? Water covers almost two-thirds of the earth. The number of species living in thewater vastly exceeds those on land. In fact, “it is estimated that 90% of all organisms live in the oceans.”(Waterhouse, 10) The Extreme Engineering: Holland’s’ Barriers episode explained that massive dykes wasdecimating the coastal fish population the Netherlands. Therefore, when the Oosterscheldekering barrier was built(one the largest and most ambitious storm surge barriers ever) the engineers designed a flexible dyke with doors(sluices) that lower in the event of high tide. This is just one example of the human response to rising sea levels isaffecting the natural ocean habitat. There is an image of this barrier in the New Orleans section.18Japan is an island with no room to expand. Tokyo is one of the most crowded cities in the world, and also one ofthe shortest on available land area. In an effort to relieve the stress of alarming overpopulation, Tokyo’s constructionindustry is currently developing a project called the Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid, which if approved, will be amassive pyramid over the Tokyo Bay, with skyscrapers suspended like peapods within its enormous frame. It wouldstand a kilometer tall and provide housing for up to 750,000 people. For more information see Extreme Engineering:City in a Pyramid.7
a)b)c)Figure 5: (a) This topographic map illustrates coastal regions that are vulnerable to rising sea levels. Highlightedregions include the eastern USA, Florida, Louisiana, Southeast Asia, Bangladesh, the Middle East, and the NorthSea (b) This highlighted region is Louisiana (c) These highlighted regions include parks of the UK and theNetherlands (http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Sea Level Rise Maps Gallery)Rising Sea LevelsSea level varies as a result of processes operating on a wide range of time-scales, fromseconds to millions of years. My concern is with climate-related processes that have an effect onthe time-scale of decades to centuries.19 Since the end of the Ice Age some 18,000 years ago, sealevel has risen by over 120 m. On average, sea levels may have risen at a rate of 0.1-0.2 mm peryear over the past 3000 years globally, but in the 20th century this increased to 1-2 mm per year.In addition, “as the world warms, it is predicted that global average sea levels may rise by19Since this paper is about water-based architecture, my focus in this section is on the human response to rising sealevels. This section is intended to be an executive summary of the issue, not a detailed explanation of the morescientific aspects of rising sea levels. For more technical information, such as, an explanation of the instrumentsused to infer sea levels or the statistical methods in which this information is obtained, see Chapter 11: Changes inSea Level, of the IPCC Third Assessment Report, published by GRID-Arendal, a collaborating center of the UnitedNations Environment Program (UNEP).8
between 7 and 36 cm by the 2050s, by between 9 and 69 cm by the 2080s and 30-80 cm by2100.20” (Figure 6)a)b)Figure 6: computer models of what (a) Europe and (b) North America may look like if the global ice reservesmelted raising the sea levels by 100 meters. Notice the portions of Northern Europe and the southern United Statesthat are completely flooded. (Roaf, 191)In 1995, 2.2 billion people lived within 100 km of a coastline, a figure which is equalsnearly 39% of the world’s population.21 Many of these people will be directly affected by2021Roaf, 190Roaf, 1909
increasingly severe and frequent storms and floods caused by rising sea levels. As a result,shoreline retreat will be accelerated. The issue, of course, of how much a low-lying shorelineretreats with increased in sea levels is “a complex one and depends very much on the behavior ofincoming currents, wave patterns, the structure, materials and form of the shoreline, and waveheights in that area and the care with which the coastline is managed.22” The longest running sealevel measurements are recorded in Amsterdam, which has records from 1700 onwards. Since1850, a rise of approx 1.5 mm/year is shown in the Netherlands.23 (Figure 7)Figure 7: Notice the dramatic acceleration of rate of sea level increase in recent years. (http://www.cutco2.org/)Though sea level is predicted to rise almost everywhere, there is considerable regionalvariation. In some regions the rise is close to zero, while others experience as much as twice theglobal average value.24 What accounts for the differences? There are three
a focus on specific contemporary projects in the Netherlands. Finally, the paper will conclude . Another example of this dichotomy of fear and fascination with the water is Hans Christian Andersen’s . “social engineer,” author
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