Holwerd at Sea
In 2011 Buro Harro designed the revolutionair plan ‘Holwerd at sea’, as direct follow-up project of our vision on the whole Frisian Waddenkust ‘Friesland at sea’. Meanwhile it turned out te be a famous project, a documentary has been made about it and a lot of money is collected with the help and endless energy of the locals who want to make this dream – which became their dream as well – come true.
450.000 people pass the beautiful mound village of Holwerd yearly on their way to the ferry to Ameland. And that’s that. Holwerd doesn’t profit of that. Just like the whole northern coast area the place is a transit area instead of a touristic area. The former coast village lies between the fields; a cultural historic pearl lost in the clay soil. Unknown and unloved. The pier where the boat to Ameland leaves can be much more then it Is today; an endless fenced parkingplace.
Make Holwerd the entrance to Unesco World Heritage site the Wadden Sea.
Restore the connection of the river Holwerter Faert and sea, it’s almost still there. This also creates an extra, almost lost but ecologically essential fresh/salt water gradient. Holwerd can be a harbour place again, a connecting link and touristic and ecological focus point at the Wadden Sea. The village, and in the same time the region will get an economic and ecological impulse which turn the negative spiral of the region. Because fading out at the shore of world heritage shouldn’t be necessary.
Inhabitants of Holwerd are enthusiastic. They start foundation Holwerd at See and try to get at much as participants as needed, the results are stunning. Just a little more patience and Holwerd lies, it can hardly be otherwise, at sea again.
