First images of new design for iconic Afsluitdijk released

The first images of the new design for the iconic Afsluitdijk have been released. This was done after Rijkswaterstaat’s announcement that Levvel (a joint venture of Van Oord, BAM en Rebel) was awarded the commission to reinforce the dike. West 8 and Benthem Crouwel Architects are the main authors of the ‘Plan Vormgeving’ or Design Plan. We are honored to be able to work on the landscaping of one of the most emblematic products of Dutch engineering.

The 30-kilometer long Afsluitdijk lies in the north of The Netherlands and protects a large part of the country from the Wadden Sea’s tides. It was built between 1927 and 1930 and has been an international icon of Dutch hydraulic engineering since. But the dike no longer meets today’s standards for flood risk management. The Afsluitdijk needs to be reinforced and its capacity to transport excess water out off the Dutch delta increased.

Works on the Afsluitdijk are expected to be carried out from 2018 until 2022.

Read the full announcement here.