In the Maaspoort suburb of the Dutch city of 's-Hertogenbosch, a group of fifty white spheres mounted on top of standing cylinders can be found. These are the Bossche Bolwoningen (Bol = sphere, woning = house). The peculiar, low-cost houses were built in 1984 as one of the last projects in a 1968 nationally funded challenge to experiment with new ways of social/sustainable housing.

Concept

The bolwoning concept was put forward by the Frisian sculptor and industrial designer Dries Kreijkamp, who preferred the sphere shape as being more natural.

Its 5.5 metre diameter sphere is made of two fibreglass-reinforced concrete half-spheres while the stem is a 3-metre-diameter prefabricated concrete cylinder. At the time the concept was deemed very energy-efficient. The round shape made it easier for wind to pass along. The relatively low surface area leads to a reduction in loss of heat compared to a box shape with the same volume. The four large round tilting windows facing the sunny side can be used to regulate the temperature in summer and give a nice view over the park landscape around the spheres.

The three-metre-diameter 'stem' houses the entry, spiral staircase, heating system and storage space. The cooler and darker bottom layer inside the sphere houses the low-ceilinged bedroom(s), one split level up you can find the bathroom and shower and the top half of the sphere contains the living room with a small open kitchen. The living room and kitchen are located in the top half of the sphere, so that less heating is required due to rising air.

Living There

All bolwoningen are owned by a local social rental organisation.

People living in the bolwoningen can be divided in two categories: People who need short-term housing at a low rent and bolwoning-aficionados who will never want to live anywhere else.

At 55 square metres of living space (25 for the living room), the intended users are singles and couples without children.

Cleaning/tidying up the interior can be tricky, due to the large number of nooks and crannies.

The acoustic properties of the half-dome living room are considered exceptional. This is slightly harmed by the rather harsh ringing doorbell that was originally installed. Long-term residents tend to replace it with a gentler ding-dong bell or even turning the thing off entirely. Knocking always works.

Living in the "Bollenveld" park enables the inhabitants to live with a feeling of nature around them. Many have picknick tables and deck chairs on the grounds between the houses. (Note: a 'bollenveld' is also a field dedicated to growing flower bulbs). With their alternative design, the group of bolwoningen stands out even more because it is situated in the middle of a regular neighbourhood of terraced houses.

Sheds by the same designer were stuck to the stems of the bolwoningen in 2014, to increase the storage space.

In 2022 the bolwoningen attained monument status, protecting them for the future.

Miscellaneous Facts

The name 'Bossche bollen' is shared with the local whipped cream-filled chocolate-covered spherical pastries that cannot by definition be eaten with dignity, except for the pros. (You are either covered in chocolate or get cream all over you, or more likely, both.)

If you like the general concept but prefer cubes over spheres, the cities of Rotterdam and Helmond can cater for you. Both have cubes on stalks as houses. The fact that the cubes are oriented point-down means that standard cupboards and bookcases are useless due to the angles. This is also the case in the bolwoningen, but the interior of those is already predefined, while the roomier cubes leave space for less efficient personal furniture choices.

The designer also tried to sell variations of the concept, like lightweight fibreglass versions you could put on a pontoon to live on water.

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12.06.23 Front Page

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