An Ode To The Ice Age, Found On The Wicked Path

In the local dialect of the West Friesland region, ‘It Goddeloas Fiersicht’ translates to mean the wicked path—a fitting title, as the viewing platform itself is situated by a historic path of the same name. Shaped during the Ice Age, the landscape of Noardlike Fryske Walden has informed the design of the ‘It Goddeloas Fiersicht’—but not in a typical sense. In their construction of the towering concrete structure, NEXT Architects and Paul Edens drilled deep into the land, or “back in time” as the architects explain. Here, the land was once covered in ice, and later, strewn with boulders, one of which sits as a feature in the subterranean section of the building. The structure itself stands on a hill, functioning as a viewing platform with a staircase that leads from the ground to the top of the tower, and views across the green pastures and pine forests of the Noardlike Fryske Walden.