Fort in the Void
National monument Fort Werk aan 't Spoel, Culemborg
The transformed Fort Werk aan ’t Spoel is a strategic Land Art intervention in which the ‘poetry of absence’ takes center stage. By involving residents and volunteers from Culemborg in the making of this intensely used place, a productive paradox emerged: the very community that cherishes the site helped prevent the surrounding open landscape of the New Dutch Waterline from being swallowed up by housing development.
The new fort can be understood as an enormous grass sculpture integrating both new and historic elements, such as the bunkers, the bombproof buildings, trees, the old inundation locks, the new Fort House, and the amphitheatre. The design draws on the fort’s rich past without historicizing it. The grass canvas is not predefined, but accommodates a wide variety of local and regional activities, always returning to emptiness afterwards.
De gemeenschap die deze plek liefheeft, hielp voorkomen dat het omringende open landschap door woningbouw zou worden opgeslokt.
Data
Commissioned by: Municipality of Culemborg (Sander Booms)
Land Art intervention: RAAAF | Atelier de Lyon
Military historian: Douwe Koen
Fort House architect: Monk
Photography: Rob ’t Hart
Location: Lekdijk, Culemborg
Status: realised in 2012
Special thanks to: Sander Booms
