In the late 1940s, work started on one of the biggest land reclamation projects ever in the Netherlands. Based on a plan by engineer Cornelis Lely, two large polders were reclaimed in lake IJsselmeer, the former Zuiderzee. In 1968 the long-term project was completed. Both polders were structured with a geometric pattern of canals, roads and fields. The empty new land proved an ideal place for experiments. At Waterloopbos, Dutch water engineers spread scale models of water management projects in a forest. In the 1990s computer simulations took over, and the scale models were simply abandoned in the forest. In 2018 the transformation of a giant wave tunnel into the stunning Deltawork sculpture added a contemporary touch to this historic site. 

Several other (land)art works have been installed on the rationalist polders over the decades – most of them celebrating the flatness and artificiality of the landscape.