Rozenburg Wind Wall Netherlands

Rozenburg Wind Wall Netherlands

Rozenburg is a small port town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. After the second World War, the port of Rozenburg grew almost explosively along the Nieuwe Maas river towards the sea. To handle the burgeoning sea traffic, a canal was built in the late 1960s running parallel to the already present Nieuwe Waterweg canal.

The Caland canal - named after a Dutch civil engineer who was responsible for building of the Nieuwe Waterweg - served as an access for deep draft vessels, in particular bulk carriers and tankers of increasing dimensions that called at the Europoort docks. The narrow waterway, however, became increasingly difficult to navigate in strong winds, particularly around the Calandbrug bridge, as the ships became larger.

In the mid-1980s architect Martin Strujis and artist Frans de Wit were called upon for the task of creating an effective yet aesthetically pleasing wind barrier. The Rozenburg Windwall was the result of their effort.