Palms in the polder (Palmen in de polder)
| Project | ‘A design for places left over after planning’, competition HSL |
| Location | Haarlemmermeer polder |
| Client | Atelier HSL |
| Year | 2003 |
A residual space will be created in the middle of the polder where the High-Speed Line (HSL) will branch off from the Schiphol Line. The provincial road, the N207, closes the triangular space. A visual intervention was requested for the residual space that does justice to the landscape and can serve as a landmark.
A new landscape would be created in the polder with palms in line with a strong grid. An oasis? A plantation? It may seem impossible – palms in the polder – but nonetheless it was achieved. You could compare it to the whole landscape of the Haarlemmermeer, constructed by human hands and machines. The Trachycarpus fortunei, or Chinese Windmill Palm, can withstand the Dutch winter. Planted in rows, the palms seem to have found their place effortlessly in the polder. By day they wave to the travellers, and by night they stand, beautifully illuminated in the dark.