In recent years there has been a discussion about nature in the Netherlands. By a sectoral and technocratic approach and the inaccessibility of the nature areas, the bond between man and nature is weakened and public support for nature has decreased. OTO seeks to strengthen this bond by looking for a new interaction between man and nature: Human Nature.
Scattered along the shore of the Westerschelde sluices characterize the dynamic conditions of the Westerschelde. The sluices collect water at high tide and the water is flushed through harbors outside the dike, to prevent them from filling with sand and to get rid of the water. These sluices are often very well connected with the urban fabric of the villages along the coastline of the Westerschelde.
Coastal improvement, needed because of climate change and rising sea levels, creates a situation in which most villages along the Westerschelde are suddenly placed behind large amounts of sand. In addition, the natural system will loose it’s dynamics. The existing typology of sluices can be reused to keep the villages connected with the water and bringing back dynamics into the natural system. The new sluices are a contemporary interpretation of the original sluices and provide opportunities for recreation, aquaculture and new residential environments.