Houseboat

In Muggenbeet, a hamlet just outside the town of Blokzijl, a houseboat lies in an inlet at right angles to the main watercourse. The inlet is only a few centimetres wider and longer than the boat so that it is not immediately apparent that the latter is floating. What that floating saved in foundation costs is more than made up for elsewhere in this weekend retreat, which has been designed down to the smallest detail. It consists of a floating tray containing three compact bedrooms and a bathroom, topped by an almost completely glazed box accommodating the living room, kitchen and toilet. The (sliding) glass walls can be sealed off with full-height shutters, allowing the house to be left behind in a vandal and burglar-proof state. In the open position the shutters become decks that hover just above the water and the grass. The shutter at the front door then functions as a wide gangplank. The idea of a box with movable shutters is supremely simple, its execution considerably less so.