Building Enschede: A City Re-Creates Itself

On May 13, 2000, a large swath of Enschede, an industrial city in the eastern Netherlands, was reduced to rubble by the explosion of a fireworks factory. More than 2000 homes were destroyed. What had been a sleepy neighborhood swiftly became a bustling building site covering an area of more than 475 square yards. In the course of that rebuilding, a raft of initiatives for other parts of the city were launched as well. New facilities including art museums, an opera house, council offices, a hospital and a pop music venue are now underway with architecture firms including MVRDV, Liesbeth van der Pol and Onix. Documentary photographer Theo Baart's captures the evolving urban, scenic and architectural world of Enschede from the panoramic landscapes at the edge of the town to the surprising city center.Baart, Theo is the author of 'Building Enschede: A City Re-Creates Itself', published 2007 under ISBN 9789056625894 and ISBN 9056625896.