New Pearl 071
House at the Vestestraat

In the inner city of Leiden is a old small house with an empty space next to it, which currently serves as a parking lot. Architect Simon Christiaanse studied the history of Vestestraat and designed a extraordinary small blue house for this empty lot.

Wool blankets

While at the canals there are majestic canal house, the back streets have a more disorderly appearance. Functions and building heights alternate strongly. In this neighborhood around the Herengracht several factories where located.

One of them was the woolen blanket factory of Zaalberg at the Vestestraat. The factory closed in 1964 and made room for housing. But the Zaalberg wool blankets are still in circulation and are sought-after by retro lovers.

Tiny House

The empty lot at Vestestraat is no more than 16 square meters. It was a challenge to design a functional house for this place.

The house has a floor space of only 31 square meters, spread over 3 layers. However, this house contains all the functions one would expect from a contemporary home: living room, kitchen, bathroom and storage.

Blue

With the pitched roof, the house has a recognizable house shape, just like the canal houses at the Herengracht. A gab at the ground floor ensures that the garden behind remains accessible.

The blue color of the facade is inspired by pastel shades that can already be found on walls of the surrounding buildings. The facade has a pattern that refers to the wool blankets from Zaalberg.

Details

Property ID
VS-071

Development
Archiparels

Design
Simon Christiaanse Architectuur

Stages
Sketch design

Year design
2019