For the legendary, 32-km Afsluitsdijk dike's 85th birthday, the Dutch government commissioned creative designer and innovator Daan Roosegaarde to spruce things up and transform the famous Dutch causeway into something more than a flood protector and road link. Built in 1932 as part of the Netherlands' famed sea defenses, the dyke is one of the country's landmark engineering projects. 

For Icoon Afsluitsdijk, as the initiative is called, Roosegaarde wanted to "enhance the innovative character of the legendary 32 kilometer Dutch dyke whilst highlighting its key functions: water protection & heritage, energy and mobility as an exemplary model of a smart landscape for today and tomorrow." Given a €13 million budget, Roosegaarde has turned the monumental site into a beautiful and sustainable art installation with three separate projects that celebrate the historical site and inspire the country towards an innovative future.

His first project in the series of three, 'Gates of Light,' illuminates the historical architecture of the dyke that connects Friesland to Noord-Holland without using any energy. 60 monumental floodlights—which were designed by Rem Koolhaas' grandfather Dirk Roosenburg in 1932—were fully restored and augmented with a retro-reflective layer. In the dark, the headlights of passing cars light up these structures by reflecting the cars' lights through small prisms.

Another part of the project is the 'Windvogel' (bird of the wind), which consists of energy generating kites that float and move around in the air. Inspired by the Dutch astronaut Wubbo Ockels' plan to harvest wind energy with flying kites, Roosegaarde has connected the kites for this project with a specially designed fibre cable to a ground station. The kites are capable of supplying green energy to about 200 homes while simultaneously lighting up the night sky, creating beautiful dancing lines through the stars.

Lastly, for 'Glowing Nature,' Roosegaarde worked with experts for two years to nurture light emitting dinoflagellate algae that illuminate when people walk on them. Inspired by night dives and the glow given off by luciferin in jellyfish, Roosegaarde then flooded the old Friesland bunker with the bioluminescent algae. "Algae are the new building blocks for our future of food and fuel...Here visitors are able to magically interact with the algae that glow upon your steps as a concrete example of our future streetlights" he explains.

Roosegaarde is known for his eco-aware designs and installations such as his award-winning Smog Free towers that are used to help clean the air in China, a Van Gogh Path that glows at night, and the Waterlicht LED light projection that illustrates how water levels could rise. While "Gates of Light' will remain a permanent installation at the site, 'Windvogel' and "Glowing Nature' will only be on display up until January 21st.