Groot Noordhollandsch Kanaal

The Noordhollandsch Kanaal, a canal form Amsterdam, via Purmerend and Alkmaar to Den Helder, was built in 1824 by connecting different smaller waters. This construction caused a tremendous economic boost to the region. King William I was primarily responsible for the building of this canal and entered history as the king of canals.

Despite the prominent situation, the Noordhollandsche Kanaal offers no identity to Noord Holland (a province in the North-West of the Netherlands). Flux proposes to widen the canal and give it a new and distinctive profile. In this way, it will manifest itself as a great line from Amsterdam to Den Helder. The wider channel is surrounded by five rows of poplar trees, it provides space to 30,000 houses and offers direct boat connections in the landscape of Noord Holland. Furthermore, the widening of the canal creates additional water storage and greater flexibility of the water system. In this way, the canal can function as a magnet for different programs . Groot Noordhollansch Kanaal offers a great new landscape in which the heroism of the original building can be experienced and importantly, it solves several urgent landscape challenges.

Self started research, awarded with the second prize in the competition Dromen over Noord Holland, landscape architecture,  water storage, nature development, ecology, Flux landscape architecture, Utrecht, 2009