The Dutch Water Line is a floodable defense system built in the 16th Century in the Netherlands. Hundreds of bunkers were built during World War II, but now sit unused. A design firm has constructed a walkway right through the middle of one.
"Despite advances in aerial warfare that rendered ground defences less relevant, the Dutch Water Line was remarkably long lived, employed all the way into the Second World War, when it was augmented with more than 700 bomb-resistant bunkers. For decades, these have sat dormant, dotting the Dutch countryside. Recently, the Amsterdam-based firm of Rietveld Landscape (working with the artist Erick de Lyon), in an effort to draw attention to the bunkers, took one of the structures – Bunker 599, just off the A2 highway near the town of Diefdijk – and sliced it in two, constructing a walkway between its two halves."
This piece from Icon looks at the project, which tries to show how these unused bunkers can be re-integrated into the public realm.
FULL STORY: Bunker 599
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