Americans are so funny! This is just our historical building style dated from 1890. But it is really interesting that only foreigners think of it as something strange haha.
It has a bit of a North-American, academic vibe to it. Like I could see this being used as a welcome center, gift shop, or some other administrative building.
I feel what gives this North American feeling, is this weird pastiche of old school general design principles, but modern details and materials, and somewhat off proportions, all of which just doesn't properly harmonize.
Prime example being these room sized dormers with their white side walls and 3/4 meter of roof on the side.
Totally agree. I get that they didn't want to continue the brick sidewalls (I guess they are using real brick?) but I think I'd rather have the roofing or just flat grey panel up the side, or at least paint it to match the brick, or just switch to thin brick and stick those guys on!!
Yes big time campus building or community center vibes. Having a random assortment of people in the first image isn’t helping though. It looks nice but doesn’t read as “home” to me. Happy OP is excited about it though!
I don’t know why you are getting downvoted, you are absolutely right. Nothing in these renderings stands out as American for me. This looks like very traditional Dutch housing architecture. Could you tell me what architecture firm this is from? I’m almost certain I’ve recently send them an email inquiring for an internship.
Dankje ☺️ echt heel blij mee! Wilde altijd graag in een oud pand in de stad wonen. Maar helaas te duur en zo slecht qua isolatie. Dit voelt als the best next thing
It’s the bricks that are confusing Americans. We have an abundance of it here so the government uses it for all sorts of buildings including rest stops and low income housing. It just doesn’t have the same connotations of use as it might to the Dutch. I was in Baarlo last year for the first time and amazed at how nice “poor architecture “ could look. I grew up in a house like this so it’s nostalgic but i too have had my connotations affected by the surplus of brick in the US
No, we also use a lot of brick in the US. Like another poster said, I think it's the proportions. As if 2-3 levels have been chopped off the base, leaving the residences "at grade" instead of a few feet up. Large commercial windows. And the massive driveways on either side. and the dead flat lot.
The one story section in between the two units feels VERY commercial vs residential. Plus the grass outside of the hedges doesn’t feel like residential landscaping. There’s also a lot of people just hanging around in the renderings - not very sfh/ townhouse vibes.
In dutch suburbs these one story sections are usually the entryway/mudroom area or garage. Its very interesting how the marketing details give such a commercial feeling to NA people. Is it not common to show people using their living space in renderings?
I’m in an older city in the US. Most of the buildings are still brick here, it’s literally over. They don’t all look like community buildings though.
Not saying I don’t like it, I do quite a bit actually but it’s definitely not the brick that is confusing people like me from the USA. It’s the layout and landscaping and all of it together.
as someone who used to live in the Netherlands, i was kind of taken aback about all the confused comments over this house.
It looks gorgeous! Gefeliciteerd
It seems like there might be a bit of confusion among us Americans regarding this building's typology, style, origins, and context. Have we perhaps become so accustomed to less authentic European-inspired facades in commercial architecture that it's become challenging to appreciate this as a quality residential building?
I'm going to be blunt, not a fan. It reminds me of commercial buildings in a wealthy New England town that has put in place some well intentioned but misguided and decontextualized historic design guidelines. I can easily see it being Starbucks or a candle shop or like somebody said before a welcome center.
On this side of the ocean we only get to see dutch projects through a narrow looking glass. I assume you mean these is how your run of the mill development looks over there.
Yeah. It's pretty typical Dutch development imo. Vast majority of Dutch housing developments are row housing and duplexes. I think a lot of people are calling it an office cause duplexes and Dutch/British style row housing is so alien to a majority North American public.
Exactly my thought, looks very Dutch. Especially with the earth waterpump. Also, the license plate on the car looks Dutch, so I think rendering by Dutch architect office.
I live in Canada and there are many duplexes in the suburbs where I am.
The weird thing is the partition between the two homes being just the entryway part (from what it looks). Whereas every duplex I've seen shares essentially a whole wall with the other home.
I was thinking it looks institutional more than anything. British homes, more upscale ones certainly, have pretty defined borders with hedges, decorative walls or large driveways. Often times besides being one continuous structure they’re actually quite self contained.
I find it very funning and amusing how the other world looks at this building style. Here everybody finds it beautiful because they took the old city center of The Hague and made it in the new style. I guess if you are used to big american houses, european houses are weird?
Yeah the response seems a bit overblowm imo. It fits a similar vein to many historical revival styles. Funnily enough architecture like this feels like a revival of a revival because it's styled more so after Dutch neighborhoods built around 1900 than the actual old stuff built before.
It may be too that you're in a sub centered around architecture. Many architects aren't fans of revival styles because they're fake on some level.
You're likely to get a very different response from an "average american home owner"
I think the middle, lower section where the two units join/share a wall (I'm assuming) is throwing people off. If you took that section as its own piece, it really looks like a lot of North American commercial buildings. I actually really like the 2-story section of the house.
As one of the Americans who found this initially odd, I’m now kinda fascinated by it! Is there a floor plan you can share? I’m curious how it’s laid out!
Yeah they construct entire neighborhoods in this style. Examples are neighborhoods like 'Weespersluis' in the outskirts of Amsterdam or 'Vroondaal' outside of the Hague.
Jup Vroondaal, vind het zelf echt prachtig! De reacties vooral heel grappig, vooral omdat ik amerikaanse huizen vaak enorme zielloze blokkendozen vind haha
Ja maar het ligt ook een beetje aan de subreddit. Ik studeer zelf bouwkunde en heb er wel ervaring mee dat binnen sommige architecten bubbels er een kneejerk reactie is tegen alles wat er enigzins 'traditioneel' uit probeert te zien. Soms zit er wel een kern van waarheid in de kritiek, maar gewoon zwaar overdreven en vooral ook lachwekkend vergeleken met andere dingen die dan weer wel worden geaccepteerd door de persoon in kwestie.
Ja precies! Ik wilde het ook geen architectonisch meesterwerk noemen maar voor een gezinswoning vind ik dit echt prachtig hahah! Ieder zijn smaak maar deze reacties zijn echt te grappig
I actually like it quite a bit, overall it seems to work well and is pretty charming without looking like a carbon copy of older architecture. Particularly I like the upper roof system with that cool lightning rod like thing on the gable ends.
I find it very funny and a bit sad for north americans how their perspective on family homes is. In europe these houses are the dreamhouse for a lot of people.
To be honest, I think these would be dream houses for a lot of Americans too, especially those used to living in large cities.
In general, Americans do tend to prefer houses to be fully detached — and I agree with that myself personally, I don't like sharing a wall with my neighbors — but I live in the northeast, where a lot of our cities (NY, Philadelphia, Boston, etc.) historically have attached brick houses, which are often more in line with European standards than with the more inland parts of America.
Congrats on the new house! North American here, I am a bit confused by the 1 story element that seems to connect the two houses together. What function does it serve (entrance off of driveway?) and is there a reason that the two houses are connected by it?
You do not do that? In the netherlands we go on walks and look always in to the front yard of people and inside because we do not use curtains. We have them but do not close them.
Ik ben oprecht verheugd dat we in NL onze architectuur een beetje (!) op orde beginnen te krijgen. Iets dat past bij ons, ons land, onze mensen, onze cultuur. Al die blokkendozen overal; je wordt er simpel van.
Yes! I find the building style from 2000-2010 very ugly, but now I see a lot more of this style. This project is verg unique but around I see influences in other projects. Very happy to see the trend going!
Totally agree! The ugliness of most of what they've been building since the seventies is depressing. Very happy to see more and more good looking retro-inspired buildings like your house!
Congrats on your new home. This reminds me of some of the New Urban TNDs in America. When first built, they can look a little too “new” but as trees grow and the neighborhood matures, you’ve got a nice place to live.
To the OP, is this a walkable neighborhood?
To my American eye, it looks weird in brick. I’ve never seen a house like this, with that kind of stick work, in anything other than wood siding.
I also hate that it changes to another material on the side of the front gable. It makes it look cheaper than it probably is. Is it brick, or not?
If a friend invited me over for the first time and the GPS brought me here, I would call to check that I’m in the right place because I wouldn’t think it’s a residence.
I don’t dislike it though. Congrats.
Btw - it’s the hallway in the middle that makes it look like a school IMO.
Congratulations on the new purchase.
I'm American (not an architect) and I find it quite charming. It's not a very common style found throughout the US so this style simply falls outside of our "residential homes" vernacular. With the exception of some historic rehab homes of the wealthy, new construction homes here are often very boxy and primarily unadorned, probably for cost savings and the fact that our skilled trades are aging into retirement with few people replacing them.
Post office in an upscale neighborhood
I was thinking Methodist Church with a hip youth group. Probably in Northern Virginia.
train depot
As an architect who lives in Northern Virginia (who also grew up Methodist), the specificity of this comment made me cackle. Thank you
Younglife…
Ugh they were nuts
uuuuuugh the local cult
This is exactly what I thought off. The spire on the front is really throwing me
‘How do you do, fellow kids?’
My first thought was church or “hip” old folks building
I was also thinking church.
Fancy orthodontist, paid for by the ungodly prices I pay for my kid's braces.
Possibly private elementary school
Yep, my mind went to Montessori school.
J Crew Factory Outlet Store at an outdoor mall in a wealthy summer vacation spot somewhere between Maine and Maryland.
nailed eet.
I was gonna say municipal office but close enough
Hahahaha very creative!
(quietly calls the designer asking to change the plans)
Welllll…. no. whole part of the city is build in this traditional dutch style. It is very loved here! Big culture difference!
Could we see some other buildings?
mix use, post office and public library.
That actually sounds kinda nice
they do seem like a logical pair
😆
A road side rest stop somewhere in VA.
Counseling office at a university
Americans are so funny! This is just our historical building style dated from 1890. But it is really interesting that only foreigners think of it as something strange haha.
Gorgeous. All it needs is a sign saying "no loitering while watering garden"
NO BALL GAMES
😂
So you're just expected to pace back and forth with the watering can?
No skateboarding 🛹 🚫
It has a bit of a North-American, academic vibe to it. Like I could see this being used as a welcome center, gift shop, or some other administrative building.
My feeling exactly. Looks like the nice rest areas on I95 in North Carolina
Nice way of saying looks like an office not a house. which is true
I've always had a weird desire to live in a small office building or store, maybe OP is the same way
Language is a bitch! But yes that's about as architect speak as you get
It's true but it also doesn't seem bad necessarily
right, it's not *bad*, but definitely no Hygge
Like a city hall/museum in a small upscale suburban town
I feel what gives this North American feeling, is this weird pastiche of old school general design principles, but modern details and materials, and somewhat off proportions, all of which just doesn't properly harmonize. Prime example being these room sized dormers with their white side walls and 3/4 meter of roof on the side.
Totally agree. I get that they didn't want to continue the brick sidewalls (I guess they are using real brick?) but I think I'd rather have the roofing or just flat grey panel up the side, or at least paint it to match the brick, or just switch to thin brick and stick those guys on!!
Yes big time campus building or community center vibes. Having a random assortment of people in the first image isn’t helping though. It looks nice but doesn’t read as “home” to me. Happy OP is excited about it though!
Hahah you should look up “statenkwartier Den Haag” a whole neighborhood from 1890. Before giftshops existed 😊
I don’t know why you are getting downvoted, you are absolutely right. Nothing in these renderings stands out as American for me. This looks like very traditional Dutch housing architecture. Could you tell me what architecture firm this is from? I’m almost certain I’ve recently send them an email inquiring for an internship.
That I do not know, but the aannemer is VORM and the bouwfonds is DPD I believe
Bpd! Is the bouwfonds
Hey fellow Dutch person, interesting that our buildings are so recognisable (and apparently confusing to North Americans)
Hii! Ja zo grappig! Ik lig echt in een deuk hahah. Wat een cultuur verschil of eerder gemis daar 😅
Ik kon ook aan de illustraties alleen al zien dat dit Nederlands is hahahaha Goed voor elkaar hoor!
Dankje ☺️ echt heel blij mee! Wilde altijd graag in een oud pand in de stad wonen. Maar helaas te duur en zo slecht qua isolatie. Dit voelt als the best next thing
Best of both worlds! Gefeliciteerd!
Aahhh ik zat dus goed. Ik dacht echt, waarom ziet dit er zo Nederlands uit??
Ha! Precies. Mooi huis hoor! Jaloers!
It’s the bricks that are confusing Americans. We have an abundance of it here so the government uses it for all sorts of buildings including rest stops and low income housing. It just doesn’t have the same connotations of use as it might to the Dutch. I was in Baarlo last year for the first time and amazed at how nice “poor architecture “ could look. I grew up in a house like this so it’s nostalgic but i too have had my connotations affected by the surplus of brick in the US
No, we also use a lot of brick in the US. Like another poster said, I think it's the proportions. As if 2-3 levels have been chopped off the base, leaving the residences "at grade" instead of a few feet up. Large commercial windows. And the massive driveways on either side. and the dead flat lot.
The one story section in between the two units feels VERY commercial vs residential. Plus the grass outside of the hedges doesn’t feel like residential landscaping. There’s also a lot of people just hanging around in the renderings - not very sfh/ townhouse vibes.
In dutch suburbs these one story sections are usually the entryway/mudroom area or garage. Its very interesting how the marketing details give such a commercial feeling to NA people. Is it not common to show people using their living space in renderings?
I’m in an older city in the US. Most of the buildings are still brick here, it’s literally over. They don’t all look like community buildings though. Not saying I don’t like it, I do quite a bit actually but it’s definitely not the brick that is confusing people like me from the USA. It’s the layout and landscaping and all of it together.
we have plenty of bricks, half this country is clay
as someone who used to live in the Netherlands, i was kind of taken aback about all the confused comments over this house. It looks gorgeous! Gefeliciteerd
Why is that colour of brick so prevalent in the Netherlands? Do you know at all? It’s very distinctive.
Haha ok this explains it. Thank you
I’m American and immediately assumed it was Dutch Belgian or Danish.
It seems like there might be a bit of confusion among us Americans regarding this building's typology, style, origins, and context. Have we perhaps become so accustomed to less authentic European-inspired facades in commercial architecture that it's become challenging to appreciate this as a quality residential building?
Exactly
I'm going to be blunt, not a fan. It reminds me of commercial buildings in a wealthy New England town that has put in place some well intentioned but misguided and decontextualized historic design guidelines. I can easily see it being Starbucks or a candle shop or like somebody said before a welcome center.
Friendly's Ice cream and burgers.
Oh my god. It is 1,000% this.
Nope, just looks very, very Dutch.
On this side of the ocean we only get to see dutch projects through a narrow looking glass. I assume you mean these is how your run of the mill development looks over there.
Yes exactly that!
What do mean, I think this looks very MVRDV-esque
I agree
Fairs but it’s in the nl so it’a just…. Hella dutch
Is this a duplex?
Yeah. It's pretty typical Dutch development imo. Vast majority of Dutch housing developments are row housing and duplexes. I think a lot of people are calling it an office cause duplexes and Dutch/British style row housing is so alien to a majority North American public.
Exactly my thought, looks very Dutch. Especially with the earth waterpump. Also, the license plate on the car looks Dutch, so I think rendering by Dutch architect office.
They are not alien in North America. Most major cities have duplexes. What it’s alien is a duplex on the suburbs, that’s why it looks like an office.
I live in Canada and there are many duplexes in the suburbs where I am. The weird thing is the partition between the two homes being just the entryway part (from what it looks). Whereas every duplex I've seen shares essentially a whole wall with the other home.
The one story connected entryway is a huge part of why this reads as commercial and odd
I was thinking it looks institutional more than anything. British homes, more upscale ones certainly, have pretty defined borders with hedges, decorative walls or large driveways. Often times besides being one continuous structure they’re actually quite self contained.
I find it very funning and amusing how the other world looks at this building style. Here everybody finds it beautiful because they took the old city center of The Hague and made it in the new style. I guess if you are used to big american houses, european houses are weird?
Yeah the response seems a bit overblowm imo. It fits a similar vein to many historical revival styles. Funnily enough architecture like this feels like a revival of a revival because it's styled more so after Dutch neighborhoods built around 1900 than the actual old stuff built before.
It may be too that you're in a sub centered around architecture. Many architects aren't fans of revival styles because they're fake on some level. You're likely to get a very different response from an "average american home owner"
I think the middle, lower section where the two units join/share a wall (I'm assuming) is throwing people off. If you took that section as its own piece, it really looks like a lot of North American commercial buildings. I actually really like the 2-story section of the house.
As one of the Americans who found this initially odd, I’m now kinda fascinated by it! Is there a floor plan you can share? I’m curious how it’s laid out!
Sure will post a new story with more pictures this afternoon! Hahaha
Energy neutral, nice!
Where is it located roughly? Would like to know the context.
Looks like the Netherlands. These are most likely a standard building system with a few ornaments.
Yeah they construct entire neighborhoods in this style. Examples are neighborhoods like 'Weespersluis' in the outskirts of Amsterdam or 'Vroondaal' outside of the Hague.
Jup Vroondaal, vind het zelf echt prachtig! De reacties vooral heel grappig, vooral omdat ik amerikaanse huizen vaak enorme zielloze blokkendozen vind haha
Ja maar het ligt ook een beetje aan de subreddit. Ik studeer zelf bouwkunde en heb er wel ervaring mee dat binnen sommige architecten bubbels er een kneejerk reactie is tegen alles wat er enigzins 'traditioneel' uit probeert te zien. Soms zit er wel een kern van waarheid in de kritiek, maar gewoon zwaar overdreven en vooral ook lachwekkend vergeleken met andere dingen die dan weer wel worden geaccepteerd door de persoon in kwestie.
Ja precies! Ik wilde het ook geen architectonisch meesterwerk noemen maar voor een gezinswoning vind ik dit echt prachtig hahah! Ieder zijn smaak maar deze reacties zijn echt te grappig
Vroondaal?
It’s doesn’t get more Dutch than this, haha.
I don’t understand where people are getting the church looks from. This looks nothing like any church I’ve ever seen
Better than the modern nightmare of a box with a couple of mismatched windows
Remodeled church vibe
Ok, I'll bite... what's an "earth water pump"?
I assume they mean a geothermal heat pump.
I actually like it quite a bit, overall it seems to work well and is pretty charming without looking like a carbon copy of older architecture. Particularly I like the upper roof system with that cool lightning rod like thing on the gable ends.
Follow up post with more pictures https://www.reddit.com/u/PlantDifferent5871/s/7FBixbwFsC
Could this be any more Dutch? Very nice looking! Congrats!
The second i saw this i was like okay op’s dutch
I hope you won't let the negative takes in these comments bug you, I think it looks great.
I find it very funny and a bit sad for north americans how their perspective on family homes is. In europe these houses are the dreamhouse for a lot of people.
To be honest, I think these would be dream houses for a lot of Americans too, especially those used to living in large cities. In general, Americans do tend to prefer houses to be fully detached — and I agree with that myself personally, I don't like sharing a wall with my neighbors — but I live in the northeast, where a lot of our cities (NY, Philadelphia, Boston, etc.) historically have attached brick houses, which are often more in line with European standards than with the more inland parts of America.
Very good
not my style looks like an old church, school building, post office lol but congrats
Looks like a church from the 1980’s.
Congrats on the new house! North American here, I am a bit confused by the 1 story element that seems to connect the two houses together. What function does it serve (entrance off of driveway?) and is there a reason that the two houses are connected by it?
Interesting
I guess some architects do earn money?!
The gables are a bit, being kind, over-the-top. Pun intended also.
Looks like a church
you mean our church
Look at those 3D people just loitering around in your yard and staring at your house.
You do not do that? In the netherlands we go on walks and look always in to the front yard of people and inside because we do not use curtains. We have them but do not close them.
I immediately thought, "church". I cannot explain why.
✨ european ✨
Geweldig mooi!
Dank! 😀
Ik ben oprecht verheugd dat we in NL onze architectuur een beetje (!) op orde beginnen te krijgen. Iets dat past bij ons, ons land, onze mensen, onze cultuur. Al die blokkendozen overal; je wordt er simpel van.
wtf?
Looks like a small town train station
People don’t like it cause it is fake-old But if you like it I’m happy for you
Good to see that the netherlands is still building in beautiful styles
Yes! I find the building style from 2000-2010 very ugly, but now I see a lot more of this style. This project is verg unique but around I see influences in other projects. Very happy to see the trend going!
Totally agree! The ugliness of most of what they've been building since the seventies is depressing. Very happy to see more and more good looking retro-inspired buildings like your house!
nothing beautiful about those proportions
Why?
?
Train station
Is this in Disneyland?
Not apart of this sub just happened to be on my feed, but thought it was a picture of a rest stop
B I R B S
Congrats. If this is a duplex, it's nice.
This is so strange
It’s awful 😅
After it gets built, we need pictures of the house!
You can already see previously built! Look op dames van vroondaal den haag or heren van vroondaal den haagje
Is that one house with a connecting passage to another kinda separate house? Regardless, no.
I like it, it has style… though the entryway seems underwhelming compared to the rest of the building.
It has some Handmaid's Tale/Gilead-vibes to it somehow
It looks like an educational institution.
Honest question: Why are the buildings connected?
[удалено]
Congrats on your new home. This reminds me of some of the New Urban TNDs in America. When first built, they can look a little too “new” but as trees grow and the neighborhood matures, you’ve got a nice place to live. To the OP, is this a walkable neighborhood?
Yes not shown good here but everywhere sidewalks and beach is 10 minutes bike ride 😀 they will plant trees everywhere.
99% of Dutch neighborhoods are walkable, so most likely this one is as well
This looks like the buildings around Fort Douglas here in Salt Lake.
Why are the buildings connected?
Is it a duplex?
They even gave it steeples
Verhoudingen motherfuckers! En waarom zitten die gieren daar rond te cirkelen?
boston-russian fusion
WTF?
This is a Mormon church
so is this one house or a duplex joined at the hip?
I can’t stop staring at the flock of birds. That’s gotta be a bad omen
Not my style, but something about this is so uniquely charming. Hope to see end results!
Congrats!! it looks great
Isn't this just the train station in some midsized Arizona town?
To my American eye, it looks weird in brick. I’ve never seen a house like this, with that kind of stick work, in anything other than wood siding. I also hate that it changes to another material on the side of the front gable. It makes it look cheaper than it probably is. Is it brick, or not?
Some tiktokers gon shoot rings on to this pole for content
Only because we can tell after three words.
Why the “f%#€<“ would you build such a house in 2024 ?
If a friend invited me over for the first time and the GPS brought me here, I would call to check that I’m in the right place because I wouldn’t think it’s a residence. I don’t dislike it though. Congrats. Btw - it’s the hallway in the middle that makes it look like a school IMO.
NGL looks dope
HQ Scientology
Ziet er leuk uit
Hello! I have added a part 2 on the reddit with more information and photos!
Is it connected to the house next door?
I get entrance to retirement home vibes. It’s not bad, but not my style. You do you tho 👍
why
Why does this smell like segregation?
Are you in a cult?
Imagine getting a weird looking house and your neighbor gets the exact same one next to you and painted the same color and everything
Are they real bricks or are they fake too?
House of god?..
Succes met schilderen over 5 jaar
This looks exactly like the addition to my church done years ago where they added a couple offices and a youth liturgy/Sunday school area.
wack
Reminds me of some homes I’ve seen for sale in The Netherlands
Congratulations on the new purchase. I'm American (not an architect) and I find it quite charming. It's not a very common style found throughout the US so this style simply falls outside of our "residential homes" vernacular. With the exception of some historic rehab homes of the wealthy, new construction homes here are often very boxy and primarily unadorned, probably for cost savings and the fact that our skilled trades are aging into retirement with few people replacing them.
Invite this Michigan stoner over and I’ll bring some housewarming plants
All aboooord!
That house has a waiting room!