Claiming the Spaces ; Reclaiming

This project delves into the tools and processes used to shape Flevoland’s artificial landscape, specifically focusing on the impact of dredging—a technique vital to Dutch land reclamation. The region of Flevoland, one of the Netherlands’ most significant land reclamation projects, was largely created through the Zuiderzee Works, an extensive engineering initiative that turned water into land. By visualizing dredging’s transformative role, this project highlights how human intervention has continuously maintained and reshaped the Dutch landscape, where nearly 40% of the land is man-made. Drawing on research from the Zuiderzee Works, the project emphasizes the historical and geographical significance of dredging, using visual representations to connect the act of land creation with the tools that enabled it, ultimately reflecting the Netherlands’ unique relationship with its engineered environment.