RO&AD architects design a bridge for a recreational area in the Netherlands that divides the water - the Moses Bridge.
The Dutch architecture office RO&AD Architecten designed a bridge for the West Brabant Water Line in Halsteren, the Netherlands.
The architects were commissioned to build an access bridge across the moat of Fort de Roovere, one of the fortresses of the West Brabant Water Line - a newly restored 17th century defense-line consisting of a series of fortresses and cities with inundation areas in the South-West of the Netherlands. The bridge was needed to connect the new recreational areas of the fort as well as the new routes for cycling, hiking and jogging.
The architects decided that it was “highly improper to build bridges across the moats of defense works, especially on the side of the fortress the enemy was expected to appear on.”
Consequently they designed an “invisible” bridge, called the Moses Bridge: The bridge resembles a trench in the fortress and the moat allowing it to blend in with the outlines of the landscape and to “hide” people crossing the water.
The Moses Bridge is set into the water way with the ground and the water coming all the way up to its edge. The bridge's construction is entirely made of Accoya wood that was waterproofed with EPDM foil.
RO&AD architects’ explain their concept: “. When you get closer, the fortress opens up to you through a narrow trench. You can then walk up to its gates like Moses on the water.”
