Among the picturesque landscapes of the Dutch province of Flevoland, one can find a very interesting project called the Green Cathedral (Dutch: De Groene Kathedraal). It is a composition of trees shaped according to a plan taken from the Gothic cathedral in Reims, France. “The Cathedral” is the work of Marinus Boezem, one of the most important conceptual artists in Europe. Over time, the tree arrangement has become an important part of local identity and one of the most interesting examples of the symbiosis of art, design and nature.
Green Cathedral in the Netherlands
Boezem’s first concepts appeared at the end of the 1970s, at which time the artist presented the idea of the ‘Gothic Growing Project’ as a proposal to root spiritual and cultural symbolism in a place that was just building its own narrative. In 1987, 178 Italian Populus nigra ‘Italica’ poplars were planted in the lowlands of Felvoland, arranged in the same way as the pillars and naves in the historic church would have been arranged. The dimensions of the foundation, approximately 150 by 75 metres, correspond to the actual proportions of the original in Reims, and the concrete paths laid out between the trees replicate the composition reminiscent of the monument’s ribbed vaults. When the trees reached their full height in the mid-1990s, the Green Cathedral space was opened to the public. Since then, the installation has functioned like a natural hall in the plan of the temple: open to the sky, light and weather conditions.
Counterpoint: wood reverse
In 1990, a spatial counterpart in the form of a counterformation to the Green Cathedral was created near the main site. This time, the trees were not planted, but removed in a young oak and hornbeam copse, cutting out the plan of the cathedral as a negative. The concrete poles find the places corresponding to the columns, and the open clearing acts as a reversal of the idea of the original installation. It is the second pole of the project created as a reflection that emphasises the passage of time and the different phases of the work.
The Green Cathedral in the Netherlands and its fate
Initially, it was assumed that the project would remain in the hands of nature and begin to slowly pass into the ‘ruin’ stage, i.e. lose its legibility. However, the 2018 storm, which damaged some of the trees, prompted a discussion about the future of the Green Cathedral. Boezem decided then that his work deserved to be protected. After a dendrological analysis and consultation with the regional authorities, maintenance work began: the crowns of the trees were pruned, damaged specimens were replaced, the soil was strengthened and long-term measures were planned for the care of the installation. The project also received public funding, making it part of the system for protecting the Netherlands’ post-war landscape heritage. The Green Cathedral was included in lists of the country’s most important spatial developments after 1965, as a site of great cultural and urban significance.
Artwork by Marinus Boezem
The Green Cathedral functions differently to a religious building made of stone. Crossing the tree line, one enters a space that is both monumental and ephemeral. The trees filter the light and the open sky acts as a vault. The composition does not stop time, but matures, changes and needs care. This process dimension gives it a specific meaning: architecture turns into a living organism. It is a form that is never finally completed, it is always in another phase of duration in the landscape. Without the need to replicate museum-like constancy.
The Green Cathedral in the context of the artist’s work
Marinus Boezem was born in 1938 in Leerdam. The artist is a representative of the conceptual direction in Dutch art. He was interested in ideas and their materialisation, not the medium per se. He repeatedly used the motif of the cathedral in his works. He treated it as a form that organises space and at the same time gives it a symbolic dimension. Realisations such as the Abri Kathedraal at the Oosterscheldekering or the installation at Kroondomein Het Loo prove that Boezem consistently worked with the symbolic language of Gothic architecture and its skeletal structure.
Source: flevolanderfgoed.nl
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