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The Saline Archive is a time-based museum in Amsterdam that responds to the impact of colonial events in the past and functions as the mediator between the Netherlands and the Dutch Caribbean. The narrative stems from the salt trade history during the Dutch Golden Age when the Netherlands seized control over Bonaire along with other Caribbean islands and established unethical salt plantations.
Bonaire remains to be a special municipality of the Netherlands, but the locals are now suing the state for insufficient climate crisis protection. The island is flood-prone, and the salt flats and one-fifth of the island could be taken by the sea before 2072.
Based on the awareness scheme published by the Dutch government for its colonial past and historical role in the slave trade, a salt museum is proposed as a collaborative effort between Amsterdam’s quartermasters and Bonaire’s representatives. The proposal integrates salt into building construction and challenges traditional museum settings by engaging the communities and offering a unique sensory experience. The museum will share the same fate as Bonaire and become partially flooded in 50 years.
The museum is divided into public features to the South and admin functions to the North, maintaining a clear circulation while avoiding complete segregation.
A unique sensory experience is offered with the performative saline cycle in the museum.
As part of the Design Realisation module, physical tests were conducted to explore the composition of salt components with different binding agents.
Salt brick walls and graduation towers are in the sacrificial area, which is slightly above the current maximum water level and prepared for flooding in 2072 as part of the design narrative.