Colored houses

The houses on the Vlondertuin are not unknown. The red, blue, yellow, and green colored houses along the Rietplas are undoubtedly the most photographed houses in Houten. But why are these houses colored?
 The houses of "De Goede Reede", as the project is officially called, were designed by architect Hans Been and realized in 2005 by NCB Projectrealisatie. So they can be found in Houten for about 14 years! Many Houtenaren get a holiday feeling from the colorful houses. Most think of the houses on the Antilles, the Caribbean, or Scandinavia. Brazil and Portugal are also mentioned.

The fact that the houses are at the Rietplas and are therefore on the water is, according to most of the residents of Houten, a precondition for the colorful houses. “You often see this in waters abroad, so you can copy that a bit because it is very nice. If these houses were in a neighborhood without water, I personally would not like it, ”says a Houtenaar to HoutenFM.

Connected to the water
Project developer NCB mentions three places that served as an example for the project: a fishing village in Norway, Willemstad (Curaçao), and Marken (the Netherlands). Architect Hans Been tells in the broadcast of Houten Awake! which inspired him to design the houses. “We were then commissioned to design something at this location. That was initially a bit along the edge of the puddle. At the time it was not an island, but along the bank of the lake, ”says Hans Been. "Then the idea arose to really connect something to the water, so an image that has to do with a fishing village."

At the very beginning, the architect had in mind the places Marken and Urk. Soon he thought it should be wooden houses. A little later he came to the conclusion that it would be a very nice place to live and that the houses should, therefore, be a bit bigger. Most fishermen's houses are small, one-story houses with a hood and the houses on the Rietplas would have two-storeyed houses.
"An image automatically arose that had more to do with the Antilles or Scandinavian countries," the architect continues. “Both themes are located on the water, very nautical. We liked that very much and we continued with it. With colored boards, so you get a Caribbean image. Because of the higher houses, it still keeps something Dutch. ”

Because of the history of the colorful houses at the Rietplas, we now know that the houses were originally inspired by Marken and Urk. They owe their color to the Caribbean and Scandinavia.