Dutch drawbridge

Everyone is talking about this newly-built Dutch bridge in Bergen op Zoom. Not because it is questioned like this Chinese construction, treacherous like these rope bridges, or as remarkable a feat of engineering as the German water bridge I blogged about. Reading the headlines, you would think that it actively parts the waters, like Moses did the Red Sea. This bridge does not in fact "draw," but it does "disappear." Spokesman Ad Kil explains the award-winning concept by architects RO&AD: "The bridge lies like a trench in the fortress of the moat, which is shaped to blend in with the outlines of the landscape. The bridge can't be seen from a distance because the ground and the water come all the way up to its edge. When you get closer, the fortress opens up to you..." Rather than keeping 17th c. French and Spanish invaders out of Fort De Roovere, the bridge -built with sustainable wood and sealed with a nontoxic coating (video here) - welcomes tourists inside the historic moated fortress, part of the West Brabant Water Line.