Den Helder

Den Helder's Willemsoord complex gives former naval infrastructure a new public life. Buildings associated with the shipyard now form part of a cultural and leisure setting that includes maritime museums, a museum harbour, cinema and the De Kampanje theatre. The naval and rescue-service collections maintain a direct relationship with the site's earlier purposes, while performances and other activities bring different audiences into the same area. Willemsoord's interest lies in this continued use of an inherited industrial setting. The structures remain legible as parts of a working maritime landscape even as their functions expand into culture, education and recreation.