When aircraft Shelter 610 opens its ruthless doors, a monstrous black behemoth slowly comes driving out. The object revives the mysterious atmosphere of the Cold War and its accompanying terrifying weaponry. At an almost excruciatingly slow pace, the artwork uses its caterpillar tracks to cross the seemingly infinite runway. Due to this brutal object's constantly changing position in the serene landscape, it allows the visitor to experience the area and the history of the military airbase in new ways.
At the same time, the artwork functions as a working environment for researchers. Their temporary stay creates opportunities for innovative research programs that otherwise would be impossible. For example, inside the object, students of the Technical University Delft (Aerospace / CleanEra) will develop a program for the innovative flying of the 21st century: "no noise, no carbon, just fly". The old runway is the perfect test site for state of the art aviation experiments.
The mobile sculpture and shelter 610 are perfect spaces for research, experiment and innovation for groups coming from various disciplines. The unconventional combination of nature and Cold War history offers an exciting environment for the development of knowledge about nature, technology and aviation.
Clients: Vrede van Utrecht, Province Utrecht, SKOR
Design: RAAAF | Studio Frank Havermans
Designteam: Frank Havermans, Ronald Rietveld, Arna Mackic
Production: Koos Schaart
Location: Airbase Soesterberg
Status: completion 2013
Video: Moving Films
Photography: Michiel de Cleene, Raymond Rutting
Many thanks to: Koen van Oort, Jigme Radovic, Anne Mauch, Willeke Evenhuis, Feike de Jong, Edwin van der Zanden, Arjan Zandbergen, Hugo Hendrickx, Francois Lombarts, David Habets, Aisha Fouad, Janno Martens, Tomm Velthuis, Erik Rietveld, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie and NWO
