Almere is a self build location in the Netherlands where occupants can buy land and build a house for as little as £150,000 for 100m2 in the 600 plots available. As featured in Channel 4's the Secret Life of buildings, inhabitants were happy with how the opportunity "[gave] back a unique house. [and that] everything you like, you put in it".
With so many decisions though, the opportunity to let everyday people design their own homes, results in strange and sometimes awkward buildings. It
made me think of the quote; The doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines. Only there aren't any vines in Almere; the area's so desolate and the architects seem to be hidden away.
However, what it does show is in a basic form what people want, what they actually like and how imaginative they can be. A lot of people say to me I don't like modern buildings, but looking at the homes below it seems that some of the public at least do. I'm suprised at how happy people are to live in such unique and colourful houses but I still think they are all far too different to really be placed so close together. thoughts?
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| screen shots from Channel 4's 'The Secret Life of buildings' broadcast on 1st August 2011 |
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| thatched house (interiors below) built by musician and girlfriend overlooking lake |
