The ENCI quarry is still under development. Visitors see 'business activity', but also 'nature development', in 2018, the first will completely stop. The mining in the ENCI quarry then comes to an end putting behind a period of 100 years of marl mining.
Mount Saint Peter is a modest hill and nature reserve in the far south of the Netherlands, peaking at 171 meters above sea level. It is a vast hiking area with views of Maastricht, Belgium, the Meuse and the marl quarry of ENCI. St. Peter's Mountain, with its strategic location, was inhabited and explored far before the Christian era. Remnants of Celtic and Roman structures and fortifications have been found on it. It is a place where nature and the rolling countryside are charming, rare owl flies on the lime grassland, limestone slopes grow special plants and sounds from the Jekerdal barely penetrate the forest.
The Pieterpad “Pieter Path”
Starting at the coastal village of Pieterburen in the north of the Netherlands, Sint-Pietersberg is the end point of Pieter Path. The very long hiking route is annually walked by thousands of hikers.
Climbing up a hill and gazing from a distance to the city creates a space for thoughts and contemplation. This project focuses on the spatial experience of the existential; thinking of a modest architectural intervention in the context of the landscape to provide physical shelter and solitude for contemplation.
Intervention location
The intervention intends to shift the emphasis away from merely viewing a "shed" as a structure and instead, concentrate on the delicate interplay among humans, culture, and nature. It navigates the intricate connection between the current state and the unforeseen shifts in nature. Positioned amidst slopes, pits, and peaks, this intervention offers a unique experiential framework within and around a mutable piece of land. It encapsulates a space that could transform into an 'approach of a shelter' or, conversely, be reclaimed by nature.