This submission is from Jim Counts, who received his graduate degree in architecture from Columbia University and his Bachelor of Architecture from Kansas State University. He has been a guest critic at SCI-Arc and UC-Berkeley and was an Editor of Oz, Volume 18, Kansas State University. He currently lives and works in New York City.

In 1952, the province of Zeeland, in the Southern part of Holland, was an archipelago of islands in a large-scale tidal region. In 1953, these lowlands suffered a disastrous flood killing nearly 2,000 people. To avoid another such catastrophe, the Netherlands implemented the Delta Plan. This ambitious public works program shortened the country's coastline by 700 kilometers. It closed off the sea by using a series of dikes and dams.

As a result, an entirely new landscape emerged-lakes, dams, beaches, recreation areas, new settlements and industrial zones. Manipulating the currents generated sandbars and nature reserves. In Dutch, a polder is and area of reclaimed land. This new polderland was one hundred percent man made.

Before the Delta Works was completed, the government decided to retain the tidal movement in the Eastern Scheldt. There were many environmental and ecological discussions surrounding this estuary. If blocked by a dam, the tides in the area would change dramatically and destroy the mussel industry so vital to the region. As a solution, the State Engineers decided to create a storm surge barrier that could be closed during times of inclement weather.