Double house Delft.

It is one of the first examples of co-operative private commissioning in the Netherlands in a contiguous street façade.

 

In this experimental street, private individuals have bought a lot from the municipality. Under the supervision of architect Fons Verheijen, 14 architects realised 16 residential houses. This project is a double home on behalf of two clients. Although they are two houses, they have much in common, just like the owners.

 

​The municipality of Delft made a long plot available at a beautiful location in Delft at the Doelenplein. Here, the Doelen cinema had burned down sometime before. Under the supervision of Fons Verheijen, an arrangement was made of about 20 individual designs, for it was only after the designs were made that the whole was placed in a composition and the owners of the plots knew exactly which lot they could buy.

The owners have been eligible for a lot from a raffle where they got up in a meeting and indicated how many meters of façade they would like to buy. That lasted as long as the strip was long (120 m1). My clients were the last to be chosen and could still take precisely 9.5 meters. Somewhat later that evening, another half meter was added.

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The foundation for the entire street collection has been put out to the contracting company Dop from de Lier. Subsequently, the construction was realised by construction company BBR from Ridderkerk. We have put this structure together with four owner-owners and three architectural firms. (van Bergen & Witte architects, HDZ Architects and Böhtlink Architectenbureau)
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That was a fantastic school where I received much support from my colleague's architects and of course, my clients. The first drawings I made on the drawing board, but as soon as the finances allowed it, I bought my first CAD system.

Looking back, you can tell from some details that it could have been better, like the concrete elements on the facades that cover the plaster of Strikolith. Now, 23 years after completion (November 1993), damage is visible to the application, presumably due to water penetration. The owners have changed little in the interior in recent years. The original colour scheme has been kept.