A Floating Vision in Almere: Jan Benthem's 10 De Fantasie House
Unveil a Jan Benthem-designed 1980s High-Tech capsule home that was constructed in just a week.
In the heart of Almere, Netherlands, a unique architectural marvel stands next to a tranquil canal. Known as 10 De Fantasie, this iconic house was the brainchild of renowned Dutch architect, Jan Benthem.
Built in 1982-1984, 10 De Fantasie is a testament to Benthem's innovative approach to High-Tech architecture. Employing industrial and prefabricated materials, the house showcases a design that is both lightweight and modular, with a delicate lattice of steel supports and transparent walls made entirely of toughened glass.
The house was initially designed as a competition entry and was awarded a free plot of land in Almere. At the time, Almere was a young town, and the De Fantasie project was intended to inspire a local self-build boom. The house was planned to be dismantled and moved after five years due to the initial terms of the land ownership, which influenced its lightweight, modular design without deep foundations.
10 De Fantasie's design encourages self-building with easy-to-source industrial materials and minimal waste space. The structure has a steel space frame bolted on four precast concrete slabs, providing a stable base. The walls supporting the roof are made entirely of toughened glass, creating transparency and the sensation of the house floating. Unconventional panels typically used for refrigerated truck bodies were used for the floor decking, front wall, and partition walls.
The house's location next to a canal gives an impression that it could float or "bob along" the water. This delicate appearance, coupled with its innovative design, has earned 10 De Fantasie international acclaim and has been featured widely in the press.
Jan Benthem, the architect behind this masterpiece, is a successful Dutch architect whose practice, Benthem Crouwel, has been the primary architect for Schiphol Airport for the past 25 years. His design for 10 De Fantasie and other homes built at De Fantasie gained significant attention and is considered a distilled and elegantly realized version of the High-Tech style, a design movement popular in the UK during the same period.
Today, housing ministers from across Europe have visited Almere to see if its self-building model might address the continent's chronic housing shortage. The local council in Almere still incentivizes people to construct their own homes, keeping alive the spirit of self-building that 10 De Fantasie helped to inspire.
In an interview in 2014, Benthem spoke about his vision for 10 De Fantasie, stating that his architectural style adheres to the Miesian maxim of 'less is more', particularly when it comes to living. Benthem's work, including 10 De Fantasie, continues to inspire architects and homeowners alike, standing as a symbol of innovative design and sustainable living.
[1] Almere's 10 De Fantasie house: a floating vision in steel and glass
[2] 10 De Fantasie: a house designed to be dismantled
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