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Nieuw Land Poldermuseum, Lelystad

1991-1993

Benthem Crouwel

Nieuw Land Poldermuseum, Lelystad
The difference in height between water and land in a polder, was chosen as the theme of this design. The basalt understructure is dike-shaped, its green roof assuming the profile of turf on a dike. The exhibition space occupies the long tube sitting on the dike like a cannon, recalling those that used to be fired to announce the spring. At the same time the tube is a telescope which, looking out over IJsselmeer and Lelystad, magnifies the difference in level between water and land. Inside the tube the dike acts as a boundary between an imaginary sea and a polder standing on stilts. The tube is supported by timber batter piles, a reference to the Batavia, the Dutch East India Company vessel being reconstructed nearby.

Client
Stichting Initiatiefgroep Nieuw Land
Architect
Benthem Crouwel Architekten

Design exhibition
Donald Janssen Ontwerpers
Gross floor area
1940 m²
Start construction
1991
Completion
1993