1. Moses Bridge: A Walk Through the Water
Most bridges announce themselves with an arch, a tower, or at least a railing above the water. The Moses Bridge at Fort de Roovere in the Netherlands does almost the opposite. Its walkway sits down inside the moat, with wooden walls keeping the water on either side. From the approach, it can look like a narrow cut in the landscape.
That disappearing act was the point. The designers, RO&AD, needed to give visitors access to a historic defensive site without placing an obvious new crossing across its moat. Their solution follows the slope of the fort and keeps the top of the bridge close to the surrounding water and ground.
The result changes the ordinary relationship between a walker and a riverbank. Instead of looking down at the water, you move beside it at an unexpectedly intimate level. There is no underwater tunnel or glass ceiling involved, just an open-air passage whose unusual position does most of the visual work.
