Bolwoningen

Dries Kreijkamp

‘s-Hertogenbosch, Bollenveld

1984

Bolwoningen

On a foggy winter morning we went to visit the bulb houses in ‘s Hertogenbosch. The fog added an extra part to the field where the 50 balls are all next to each other. They date from a good year: 1984. They were designed in the 70s by Dries Kreijkamp. He was originally a sculptor and found that a sphere was the only form that a person can live in. According to him, a person only makes round movements and a sphere provides security and a safe feeling. In 1968 the subsidy for experimental building was established in the Netherlands, which was used to build the bulbs. Toilet, bathroom and kitchen are in the middle of the sphere, the living room is upstairs and the bedrooms downstairs.

Construction

The spheres have a diameter of 5.5 meters and are constructed from the new material then: Fiberglass Reinforced Cement. This was produced in a temporary factory on the construction site. The spheres stand on a concrete base in the form of a cylinder with a diameter of 3 meters. The round tilt windows have a diameter of 1.2 meters.