Copyright©Andrew van Egmond - Contemporary Landscape Architecture - Modern Garden Design Plan Drawing - Nature

Freedom Park in The Netherlands


 


First steps in realizing the new liberation park in Friesland, The Netherlands. This park is a new Second World War (WW2) memorial.

The movement over this long curved path will bring the visitor into a meditative state of mind.

I feel privileged and honoured to have designed this promising site.



In collaboration with Gerben Modderman, stichting Smelne’s Erfskip en gemeente Smallingerland.



Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond
Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond
Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond

This project still needs to mature, but the first images are promising.
The concept for this design is simple, yet powerful.
A long, gently curved path takes you chronologically through the regionally-based stories of World War II, from the beginning of the occupation to liberation.
The path begins with a series of industrial concrete slabs, combined with steel track plates, which were used for tanks and serve as a gate. The materials reflect the intimidating violence of the wartime machinery. Once through the gate, you walk through a grid of trees, which have just been planted and still need to reach maturity. The curved line, combined with the strong, imposing grid and the rhythm of long ditches, creates disorientation, reflecting the chaos of war. Eventually, the grid of trunks and tree canopies opens up to reveal an open field with a circular water mirror and path. The opening of the tree canopy and the transition from darkness to light symbolize hope. The large, round water mirror represents life and the reflection on our own lives, but in this case, it specifically symbolizes the reflection on history, so that we do not forget.

Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond
Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond
Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond
Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond
Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond
Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond
Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond
Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond
Freedom Park  - By Andrew van Egmond

The circular water mirror is also a shape that refers to the pingo, a natural phenomenon characteristic of this area, formed during the last Ice Age.
A pingo is a natural feature typically found in cold, permafrost regions. It is an elevation of the ground, usually round or oval in shape, that forms due to the buildup of ice beneath the surface. This occurs when water beneath the permafrost freezes and accumulates, eventually causing pressure to rise and pushing the ground upward.

To be continued