# 211 TIDAL LANDSCAPE OF THE | EEMSDAM | 1. Eemsdelta has an important ecological value in the Wadden Sea
2. Economic importance of harbors requires constant dredging of shipping channels
+53° 24’ 45.37”, +6° 56’ 3.96
3. Dredging causes high concentrations of sludge and major reduction of marine species
4. Deep dredged shipping channels and land reclamation causes unsafe tidal range
Potency cross-section of the Eemsdam. Eemsdam is not just a technical intervention but offers opportunities for attractive and inspiring spaces
5. Eemsdam enables development of ecology and economy as well as coastal defense The tidal marsh land
This zone is inaccessible for humans since it is fully meant for ecological development. The important ecological function of the Ems-Dollard estuary as a nursery area for flatfish in the Wadden Sea will be preserved here. Thousands of birds will make nests and will find food on the vast tidal flats, in accordance with the Natura 2000 legislation and requirements.
Initial situation
Development stage 1 (2015)
Development stage 2 (2030)
Development stage 3 (2050) The sea-garden
Current situation with 1 deep shipping lane.
The Eemsdam is constructed. On the German side, the shipping lane is partly moved and dredged. On the Dutch side the system searches for a new balance.
The estuary on Dutch side slowly starts to form saltmarshes from the edges. On the mudflats along the shipping lane in front of Delfzijl the first deeper gullies become visible.
Gullies system is virtually in balance. High and low saltmarshes are formed.
An important goal of the Eemsdam design is to create new, attractive and inspiring spaces for humans. In most cases, the appearance and shape of a dam is determined by its primary function. However, an additional aspect of dams is their enormous attractiveness to the public. Walking on a dam will make you feel small and vulnerable towards the huge dimensions of this construction and the power of the water. Especially this experience of the littleness of man makes dams attractive for people. The design of the Eemsdam accounts for these human feelings without too much predetermined recreational design. This would overrule the pure experience of the dam and its environment. The experience at the end of a dam is in itself spectacular enough and does not need additional design measures. The challenge is more to seduce people to take a walk to the end.
Due to the growing human demand for food and energy, opportunities for sustainable exploitation of sea products receive increasingly more attention. In this zone of the dam there will be roughly 1000 hectares of space for seaweed production. Seaweeds are known for their diversity of valuable elements that may replace land-cultivated biomass and fuels. In addition,27 wind turbines will be placed here.
Breakwater 43 is easily accessible by car and all basic recreational facilities are present here. Consequently, the remaining part of the dam may stay simple and pure. People can walk from breakwater 43 to the end of the dam until gradually all elements and human dimensions have disappeared and one is exclusively surrounded by the sea, feeling small and vulnerable. At the endpoint one will be rewarded with a fantastic view. The sea stretches far beyond the horizon, vast and endless. A keen wind blows relentless along your face. Furious waves crash against the solid concrete blocks and splash apart. This overwhelming experience will remain with you for a long time.
Detail A
The changing land
This zone is similar to the ecological salt marsh land, with the difference that it is accessible to people. A number of old fishing boats will function here as temporary residences. The interior of the boats will have a modern character, whereas their outside will look old, rusty and weathered. Their orientation and position will change twice a day due to the effect of tides.
Detail A Breakwater 43
The last rockfilled breakwater of the Emsdam, number 43, is meant for recreation in an area dominated by emptiness and openness. People are free to give their own meaning to this region. There are only a few basic services, including a parking lot, a harbour, a viewpoint and a building with basic sanitary facilities. This subdivision of the Emsdam offers an interesting and exciting space to the recreating public.
The end
A walk from breakwater 43 to the end point of the Emsdam in the Wadden Sea will induce an increasing tension along the route. In these last five kilometres all human dimensions disappear. One feels small and vulnerable on the long but narrow profile of the dam. At the endpoint, however, you will be rewarded with a fantastic view. The waves and crests stretch up to the horizon and you can see the curvature of the earth.
The present design adapts the costal defence to the expected rising of the sea level. In this sediment-rich estuary, a natural, dynamic coastal defence seems a promising long-term alternative to the current strategy of building higher and higher dikes and pumping water as hard as possible. This design concept gives more space to the natural dynamics of the Wadden Sea area. With the present proposal a dynamic tidal landscape arises, which allows feeding by the tides in the land behind the dikes. We have no longer to fight against the water, but can profit from the dynamics of this system. The present concept offers space for nature, agriculture and new salt-crops.