July - Iconic Houses Month

Discover the dream homes of the Netherlands!

Follow this link for a Dutch version of this article >>

This year, July is Iconic Houses Month in the Netherlands. For the first time, on Sundays in July, 10 modern museum houses and private dream homes that are affiliated with Iconic Houses, the international network of modern house museums, join forces to offer a 50% discount to Iconic Houses passe-partout holders! So if you would normally have spent €120,- on entrance tickets, you will now pay €70,- and save €50,-. The passe-partouts cost €12.50 per person and are available via the Iconic Houses WEBSHOP.

From famous names to hidden gems
Surprising examples of progressive residential architecture can be found throughout the Netherlands. From social housing at the beginning of the 20th century, to conceptual villas at the start of the 21st century. Take a journey through time and discover internationally important architectural movements from De Stijl and Modernism to Structuralism and Postmodernism.
Some private homes that rarely open their doors to the public, such as De Diagoon House in Delft and the Van Schijndel House in Utrecht, are welcoming visitors for Iconic Houses Month. The stories behind these houses’ design tell us a lot about how people in different decades thought about life, society, relationships and health and hygiene: all their ideals, expressed in bricks or concrete. It’s the first time that this group of modern house museums in the Netherlands have taken this joint initiative.

Sunday Specials
The Iconic Houses Month is a unique opportunity to finally visit all these special houses. It’s possible to do a tour of the Netherlands and visit all ten houses on the Sundays in July.
A day in Utrecht takes you to two special architect’s homes, where everything including the (built-in) furniture and lighting has been seamlessly designed: Sybold van Ravesteyn House (1930s) and the (privately occupied) Van Schijndel House (1992), where the glass doors hinge on a silicone sealant joint without hinges.
In Amsterdam, the Amsterdam School is celebrated with the model home at Museum Het Schip in the Spaarndammerbuurt and the guided tours about Michel de Klerk at De Dageraad in Amsterdam Zuid. Or take a look in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, where the Van Eesteren Museum gives guided tours of the neighbourhood that show how the General Expansion Plan for Amsterdam by Cornelis van Eesteren took shape in the 1950s.
A visit to the show house in the world-famous residential area De Kiefhoek of J.J.P. Oud in Rotterdam, can easily be combined with a tour of the (privately occupied) experimental Diagoon house in Delft. And you can plan the Van Doesburg-Rinsemahuis in Drachten with its De Stijl colour palette in one day with the conceptual Wall House # 2 in Groningen. Take a whole day to discover Nagele, the only place in the Netherlands where all buildings have flat roofs, in the Noordoostpolder – an “ideal city” that was designed entirely from the drawing board and was realised in one go in the 1950s. Museum house Polman is the first open-plan house there, and if you get there quickly enough you can even spend the night in the house next door, which is rented out as Monument & Bed.

Iconic Houses Passe-partout
The ten Iconic Houses can be visited on Sunday 4,11,18, and 25 June. Iconic Houses passe-partout holders receive a 50% discount on presentation of their printed passe-partout. A passe-partout costs €12.50 per person and can be purchased from Thursday 1 April via the Iconic Houses WEBSHOP. If you have a ‘Museumjaarkaart’, you will receive a discount on the additional tours that can be booked, such as at Het Schip and De Dageraad, and at Wall House # 2, passe-partout holders receive a free architecture guide about the Wall House #2 (worth €3.95). In view of the anti-coronavirus measures, a time slot must be reserved for each house museum separately.

Utrecht

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Sybold van Ravesteyn House
The Dutch railway architect Sybold Van Ravesteyn designed this villa for himself and his family in 1932. He wanted to experiment with designs that were freer, and he introduced wavy lines and curly forms. This was completely against the principles of ‘Nieuwe Bouwen’, and not everyone could appreciate his exuberance and passion for ornaments. Van Ravesteyn wanted to design a house with modest means, but with high quality of living ánd working comfort. There is a lowered ceiling with built-in lighting for optimal sight at his desk. Special is the furniture set in the room. Many of his designs were demolished, but fortunately this gem was spared. Come and have a look!

The Hendrick de Keyser Association offers a 50% discount (€3,- instead of €6,-) on the entrance fee on presentation of the Iconic Houses passe-partout 2020.
Book your ticket and time slot for a visit of the Sybold van Ravesteyn House here >

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Van Schijndel House
The Van Schijndel House actually only gives a guided tour every first Sunday of the month and can now be visited for Iconic Houses all Sundays of the month of June. It is a well-hidden architectural masterpiece from 1992. Architect Mart van Schijndel built his inventive dream house on the site of an old glass warehouse, hidden in an inner courtyard. He transformed the gatehouse at the Pieterskerkhof into post-modern apartments. The house itself is located behind it, completely enclosed by the houses and gardens of the Pieterskerkhof and the Kromme Nieuwegracht. Despite the limited surface, it is very light and spacious inside. Almost all furniture is designed by the architect and the most special details that can be discovered are the glass doors that have been rotating without hinges on a silicone sealant joint for almost 30 years.

With the Iconic Houses passe-partout, the Mart van Schijndel Foundation offers a 50% discount (€12,50 instead of €25,-) on the tour of the privately occupied house.
Book your ticket and time slot for a guided tour at the Van Schijndel House here > info@vanschijndelhuis.nl. Mention that you are an Iconic Houses passe-partout holder.

Amsterdam

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De Dageraad Housing Complex – Guided Tour Around De Dageraad
This tour takes you around the spectacular housing complex of De Dageraad, with a focus on the architects and artists, the architectural features of the Amsterdam School, and the special history of housing cooperative De Dageraad.

Iconic Houses passe-partout holders receive a 50% discount (€5,- instead of €9,75) on the tour. The tour starts at De Dageraad.
Book your ticket and time slot for the Guided Tour Around De Dageraad here >

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Museum het Schip – Guided Tour Treasures of Social Housing
'Treasues of Social Housing' guides you through the famous Spaarndammer district. During the tour, the guide takes you along several housing complexes built according to different ideologies. You will take a closer look at the beautiful Amsterdam School architecture of Michel de Klerk, the court constructions of the Zaanhof designed by Walenkamp, and the municipal housing blocks at the Zaandammerplein built by De Bazel. With the housing law in hand, the municipality, housing corporations and architects did their utmost at the beginning of the last century to build decent houses for the workers. It is interesting to see how from the same ideals, different architects came to different insights about the ideal housing construction for the worker. Come and marvel! The tour starts at Museum Het Schip.

This additional thematic tour can be booked only in addition to your ticket for Museum Het Schip. Iconic Houses passe-partout holders receive a 50% discount (€6,25 instead of €12,50) on the tour.
Book your ticket and time slot for the Guided Tour Treasures of Social Housing here >

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Museum het Schip – Guided Tour Michel de Klerk
In this extended tour, the guide will focus on the extraordinary visual language of Michel de Klerk. During the first two decades of the 20th century, De Klerk designed three expressive social housing blocks around the Spaarndammerplantsoen. These buildings are now concerned to be ultimate examples of Amsterdam School architecture. In 1,5 hours the fascinating world of De Klerk will be explained, while taking a closer look at the beautiful wavy façades of his buildings. The tour starts at Museum Het Schip|houses/schip].

This additional thematic tour can be booked only in addition to your ticket for Museum Het Schip. Iconic Houses passe-partout holders receive a 50% discount (€6,25 instead of €12,50) on the tour.
Book your ticket and time slot for the Guided Tour Michel de Klerk here >

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Van Eesteren House Museum
The house museum of the Van Eesteren Museum is located in the middle of Amsterdam's Western Garden City Slotermeer. Designed by the architects Nielsen, Spruit & Van de Kuile (design 1952) and built on behalf of the De Dageraad housing association. The house is in its original state and furnished according to the principles of the Stichting Goed Wonen: no flower curtains and carpets on the table, but light, air and space inside the house. In the house museum you can (re-)experience living in those years: a coal stove, a Bruynzeel kitchen and telephoning with ‘a large Bakelite case’ and a lot of Dutch Design. Originals and classics from the 50s and 60s from brands that still exist today such as Forbo, Pastoe, ‘t Spectrum, Mosa, Tomado and Gispen. All donated by local residents, collectors and reconstruction enthusiasts. Welcome to the 50s!

The Iconic Houses passe-partout 2020 gives a €6,- discount on the full rate entrance (€12,50) price throughout November.
Book your ticket and time slot for a visit of the Van Eesteren House Museum here and enter the discount code ICONICHOUSES >

Drachten en Groningen

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Van Doesburg Rinsemahuis
In most museums the works of art are presented on the wall. In Drachten you enter in the artwork, and the artwork is part of the street scene. Step into the style icon of the north, this life-size and 3D painting from 1921: a complete house, designed in the style of De Stijl. Before your visit to the museum house, watch the film ‘Krabben aan Verf’ ('Scratching Paint', with English subtitles) in Museum Dr8888. We recommend that you do this at least 30 minutes in advance, so that you are at the house on time. From the museum it is a short walk of about 10 minutes to the Van Doesburg Rinsemahuis at Torenstraat 3.

Museum Dra8888 offers a 50% discount on the entrance fee (€5,- instead of €10,-) on presentation of the Iconic Houses passe-partout.
Book your ticket and time slot for a visit of the Van Doesburg Rinsemahuis here >

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Wall House #2
Wall House #2 is a landmark, with its multitude of shapes, colours, interesting details, symbols and meanings. It is an exponent of architecture in the eighties and nineties of the last century, when the city of Groningen presented itself as a stage for international post-modern architecture. The exuberant house was designed by New York architect John Hejduk (1929 - 2000).

Wall House #2 is usually open until 1 November, , and is especially for Iconic Houses also open all other Sundays in November from 12:00 to 17:00.
Entry is free and no reservation is required. Passe-partout holders receive a free architecture guide about the Wall House #2 (worth €3,95). Edition October 2020.
Follow this link for more information >

Rotterdam en Delft

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De Kiefhoek - Guided Tour De Kiefhoek
De Kiefhoek is the undisputed highlight of modernism within the context of Rotterdam’s vast collection of social housing projects. It was with this residential area from 1927 that J. J. P. Oud made a name for himself as a modern architect. The 294 houses were small, but very practically furnished with all kinds of built-in elements, such as cupboards, a small fireplace and a useful coat rack that was, at the same time, serving purpose as a hat shelf. Oud also made a matching design for several of the neighbourhood’s central facilities, like the two eye-catching shops, a boiler house and a church.
A tour of the Kiefhoek starts at the unique house museum, which gives you a good insight in the history of the architecture and its clever features. After visiting the house museum, you’ll be exploring the rest of the remarkable project. Along the way a professional guide will tell you all about this revolutionary urban development project by architect Oud.

UrbanGuides offers a 50% discount on the entrance fee (€12,50 instead of €25,-) on presentation of the Iconic Houses passe-partout.
Book your ticket and time slot for a Tour of De Kiefhoek here >

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Diagoon House
Architect Herman Hertzberger (1932) is internationally one of the best-known representatives of structuralism with a number of prominent buildings that are known worldwide, including the experimental Diagoon Houses built in 1971 in the district Buitenhof of Delft. The Diagoon Houses are so exceptional because they are considered the most structuralist houses built to this date and still function. It is characteristic that the houses are designed as a semi-finished product that must be finished, filled in and expanded by the residents themselves, depending on their functional and emotional needs. The sculptural design of staggered floors around a central void with a ship's ladder and drawbridge creates a unique spatial experience.

The Iconic Houses passe-partout 2020 gives a 50% discount on the entrance fee (€7,- instead of €14,-) on Sundays throughout November.
Book your ticket and time slot for your visit via the Diagoon House website >

Nagele

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Museumhuis Polman in Nagele, icoon van het Nieuwe Bouwen
In this special house museum you are welcome to visit the year 1956: the year in which this house was built. The design of the town of Nagele, and the Karwijhof neighbourhood in particular, was progressive and innovative, with a lot of attention for green in public space, light and air. The Polman House is the first open-plan house with a dividing glass wall between the kitchen and the living room. Using glass as a room divider allows the sun to pass through and to have a visual connection between the living and kitchen, which had never been done before and the presence of daylight was a feature all the residents could appreciate. The ‘lavet’, an ultramodern and practical invention to wash yourself, is often found in social housing from the 50s and 60s. It’s a Dutch design made of artificial natural stone. At the end, the regular shower turned out to be much more convenient. Come to Nagele to experience what this looked like!

The Hendrick de Keyser Association offers a 50% discount (€3,- instead of €6,-) on the entrance fee on presentation of the Iconic Houses passe-partout.
Book your ticket and time slot here >

This initiative was originally organized for November 2020. In view of the government's policy to close the museums for two weeks in November 2020 due to the pandemic, it has been moved to the month of June 2021.

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Posted 19 March 2021