Location: Utrecht, Netherlands.

Architect: JDdVarchitecten.

DOMunder is an underground historical attraction located in the heart of Domplein, Utrecht. The attraction was opened in June 2014 and aims to exhibit the grandeur of twenty centuries of history, allowing visitors to perceive the impact of the collapsed portion of the Dom Church. The design of the attraction was created by JDdVarchitecten, who designed a Cor-Ten steel monocoque protection of the preserved archaeological contents. Visitors are led along a pathway that connects all the places and spaces of the story’s perception, giving them the feeling of straying through time and descending deeper in time. The attraction was implemented across a surface area of about 350 m2 with the deepest point at 4.70 metres. The design is based on and positioned as such that it falls exactly within the ‘outlines’ of ‘trench 19 and 20’, which were digs carried out by archaeologist Van Giffen back in 1949, on the condition that no undisturbed archaeological materials would be lost. Visitors assume the role of the archaeologist and use interactive torches to light up foundations or discoveries, triggering a sensor to display an explanation of the urban archaeologist and/or an image. The attraction also features a multimedia descent in time, taking visitors further back in time with detailed 3D reconstructions of Domplein. The attraction was made possible by modern technology and traditional craftsmanship, with the technology of the portrayal for example of an image by means of an accumulation of light points being decidedly archaic. The attraction was designed to comply with extremely stringent limiting conditions in order to preserve the ground profiles and the archaeological remnants/discoveries as such, that these could be maintained in both the short and in the long term, while being exposed to oxygen and light without degenerating.

Photo credit: Oliver Schuh of Palladium Photodesign.