1 Aquatecture: Water-Based Architecture in the Netherlands
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Aquatecture: Water-based Architecture in the Netherlands Rebecca Pasternack Architecture 590 May 8, 2009 1 Table of Contents Introduction................................................................................................................................... 3 Psychology of Living on the Water ............................................................................................. 3 Folklore....................................................................................................................................... 4 Psychology.................................................................................................................................. 5 Climate Change and Water ......................................................................................................... 7 Rising Sea Levels........................................................................................................................ 8 Land Reclamation ..................................................................................................................... 13 The Netherlands.......................................................................................................................... 14 Geography................................................................................................................................. 14 Land Reclamation – the Netherlands........................................................................................ 15 Dutch urban planning................................................................................................................ 17 Dutch Architecture.................................................................................................................... 18 Water-based architecture typology........................................................................................... 21 Category 1: Stationary Projects ................................................................................................ 23 Category 2: Floating Projects.................................................................................................... 24 Category 3: Floating Mobile Projects....................................................................................... 27 New Orleans ................................................................................................................................ 29 History....................................................................................................................................... 31 Suggestions for the future ......................................................................................................... 32 Conclusions.................................................................................................................................. 35 Works Cited................................................................................................................................. 36 Appendix A - Glossary ............................................................................................................... 38 Appendix B – Master list of Dutch projects ............................................................................. 40 2 Introduction The term “Aquatecture” refers to architecture associated with the element of water. It implies an awareness of the architectonic qualities that water can provide, as well as, an appreciation of the water element in its architectural context.1 Whether or not the project is constructed 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-established prototypes, like houseboats.2 This paper is an exploration of the concept of Aquatecture using the Netherlands 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 water- based architecture. Next, the paper will provide background information on Dutch urban planning 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 with a focus on specific contemporary projects in the Netherlands. Finally, the paper will conclude with 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 Waterstudio (http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/waterstudiomosque.jpg) Psychology of Living on the Water This section explores our fascination with the mysteries of the ocean. Both the desire to explore the depths of the sea and the fear of the ravages of the sea (flooding), have always 1 The term Aquatecture is originally from Anthony Wylson’s book Aquatecture, written in 1986. 2 The Floating Mosque is an in-progress project by Dutch architecture firm Waterstudio. I will be meeting with architect Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio this July 2009 at his firm in Rijswijk, Amsterdam. 3 captivated people. Like space exploration, the desire to explore and colonize the ocean’s depths stems from the human desire to explore the unknown.3 In addition, for many, living on the water represents a type of utopia, a place untroubled by problems found in civilizations on land. Folklore Water plays a central role in the mythology, religion, and rituals of all cultures. Many cultures world-wide have folklore which shows that water can be both a creator and destroyer of life. Creation stories, for example, have generated a wealth of water-related myths.4 These myths often share the same contradictory attitudes of fear and fascination with the water, a dichotomy which is an important part of folklore all around the world. For example, in the Ancient Greek epic 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 the destruction of life by a catastrophic flood.6 The obvious example of course, is the biblical story of Noah’s ark, in which Noah builds a houseboat large enough to accommodate a farmyard, an aquarium, an aviary, and a zoo.7 (Figure 2) Figure 2: Noah’s ark in a woodcarving by Jost Ammann, 1567 (Flesche, 10) 3 Waterhouse coins the term “aquanaut,” which is similar to the idea of an “astronaut.” (Flesche, 12) 4 In Indian mythology, for example, the Hindu divinity Vishnu descends into the water and raises up the earth. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, G-d creates the world by separating the heavens and the earth. In Ancient Greek tales of the gods, the sea god, Pontos, is born at the same time as the heavens. (Flesche, 11) 5 The Sirens in The Odyssey sing beautiful songs, which, combined with their magical beauty, lure sailors into the waves. Another example of this dichotomy of fear and fascination with the water is Hans Christian Andersen’s story, The Little Mermaid in which a young mermaid gives up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince. The love proves fatal, however, and she dissolves into sea foam. 6 Our fear of flooding is still very real today, as scientists warn us about the consequences of global warming. The fear of a potential apocalypse has been envisioned in recent films like the 2004 apocalyptic science-fiction film The Day After Tomorrow, which depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming and global cooling. The 1995 film Waterworld “went a step further with its representation of life in a distant future when water covers the whole earth and memories of civilizations on dry land are dismissed as fairytales. The survivors build primitive floating islands from 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) 7 See section on houseboats, in Typology section. 4 Psychology Throughout history, living on the water has symbolized the dream of living in a symbiotic relationship with nature, much closer than would ever be possible on dry land.8 Historically, 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.”9 Perhaps 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 of this supposed prehistoric lost civilization never goes away. This is evidenced by the fact that Atlantis was the name given to the first U.S. vessel dedicated to oceanographic research. It is also the name of an American space shuttle currently in assembly, as well as, a series of resort hotels in Dubai and in the Bahamas.11 Figure 3: Vision of Atlantis based on Plato’s description. Plato described Atlantis as alternating rings of sea and land with a palace in the center. (Flesche, 8) Atlantis is important because it is perhaps the most famous example of a water utopia. Sir Thomas More first coined the term utopia (which is derived from the Greek “utopie” which literally means “no place”) in 1516 in his book Utopia, which defined a utopia as an ideal, 8 Flesche, 8 9 Flesche, 8 10 Our only historical source