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Architects: Attika Architekten
- Area: 200 m²
- Year: 2012
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Photographs:ABC Arkenbouw, Bart van Hoek
“Drijf in Lelystad” consists of eight floating dwellings, for eight families in Lelystad, the Netherlands. Having lived on water in their childhood, these families always dreamt to live on water again.
The families united in a collective partnership called “Drijf in Lelystad” (Float in Lelystad) and commissioned Attika Architekten to design eight different but matching floating homes. The municipality of Lelystad, a New Town in a polder 4,8 metres under sea level, provided a water location by widening an existing ditch (poldersloot).
Since the families all had their own specific requirements and wishes, each dwelling got its own characteristic size, colour and shape. Direct contact with the water was leading in each design: unobstructed views, split level, abundant daylight, water reflections on walls and ceilings, water terraces on different levels and direct access to the water.
The façade panels are composed of matching colours. The palette of colours let the dwellings blend into the natural surroundings. All dwellings have two basic colours, thus providing coherence. Colour accents, chosen by the owners, make one dwelling stand out from the other, giving the homes their individual character.
The floating homes were built in Urk, 40 kilometres away from Lelystad. They were constructed in timber frame on concrete caissons and towed over water to their destination. The size of the narrowest lock determined the width of the houses: 6,9 meters.