Hoofddorp Fort Island / Serge Schoemaker Architects

The process of redeveloping and converting Hoofddorp Fort took a decade. Some 8,100 m2 in size, the Dutch world heritage site has been transformed into an urban park with space for a restaurant as well as cultural and educational activities. Serge Schoemaker Architects tackled the landscape, architecture and interior in an integral manner, fusing past and present into a new entity. Hoofddorp Fort (1904) is one of the few forts along the historical Defence Line of Amsterdam with two floors. Like most of the forts, this defense structure is embedded into the landscape and covered with a layer of earth. The fort consists of a rich labyrinth of spaces: gun positions, rooms, corridors, and niches.