Educational landscape at Aquaport Den Helder

In 2021 educational and childcare organisations in the Den Helder region came together to create a new and unprecedented facility for young people. Aquaport was envisioned as a place for youth to nurture their talents, prepare for the future, and cultivate their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. FABRICations recently signed on for the project.

The Aquaport landscape park, is also referred to as the ‘educational landscape’. Water plays a crucial role in our design, and we want to highlight it from various perspectives. Whether it’s the safety provided by dikes and forts, food production in fields and meadows, energy generation through floating solar panels, the beautiful natural landscapes of ponds, lakes, and rivers, the culture of poldering and painted seascapes, or the athletic achievements of our ice-skating, swimming, and rowing heroes, everything is connected to water.

In Aquaport, we aim to learn, create, marvel, admire, investigate, and play with water. This can often happen indoors, but sometimes it is much better to be outdoors in the natural environment. To allow all aspects of water to shine and to experience the exploration of different themes as a journey of discovery, we present Aquaport not as a building, but as a landscape park with various pavilions surrounded by water gardens, marshes, mangroves, ditches, ponds, streams, and canals.

By presenting Aquaport as a collection of pavilions and characteristic landscape elements, we create a flexible entity that can grow with its own success. Each year, based on a new investment decision, a new component can be opened, ensuring that Aquaport always offers a new experience, even for returning visitors.