Experimental dwellings: Housing Expo "De Fantasie" & "De Realiteit" Almere

The city of Almere is a New Town built in one of the reclaimed polders of the Zuiderzee as a new satellite for Amsterdam. This makes Almere the youngest city in the Netherlands, and also an example of a completely planned community (Hoofddorp, Nieuw-Vennep, Nagele, Emmeloord, Lelystad and Dronten are other examples). Almere was named for a former lake the Almere, that was roughly located where the new city was proposed. The city was conceived as a multinuclear suburban satellite composed of distinct sections surrounded by green (parks, playing fields, woodland etcetera). On land drained in 1968 (and known as the South Flevoland Polder) development of the first section Almere-Haven (Almere Harbour) started in 1976.This section was built as a self-sustaining village with its own little centre and amenities. In 1980 work started on Almere-Stad, the central section. Development progressed with Almere-Buiten (1984), Almere-Hout (1992) and Almere-Poort (2000). Plans are now being developed for Almere-Pampus.

The new high-density city centre of Almere as viewed from across the Weerwater lake. There are plans to move the power lines that now cut across the water.

As part of a rethink dubbed Almere 2.0 the idea is to make the city into a "true city" with a clear high-density centre. This will be developed along the northern edge of the Weerwater (a large artificial lake) and connected via a new "urban loop" around the lake's edge to a new, equally high-density mixed office and residential development near the motorway dubbed "the hub". The goal is to grow Almere to a city of 350,000 inhabitants by 2030. For this the local council is looking at increasing employment opportunities, as the city is basically a sleeper or commuter town.

Some of the towers of the new city centre and the way these new buildings are used to frame a view across the adjoining artificial lake.

Almere is known for its neighbourhoods of similar housing in a style typical of the building period. Owner-occupied and socially rented housing are mixed, as is usual in the Netherlands. As such most of the housing developed up to the 1990s is seen as bland and suffering from sameness and a lack of imagination. As land was cheap, it all belonged to the state as it was once the bottom off a bay,  Almere was seen as a good place for experimentation. So two experimental neighbourhoods De Fantasie (The Fantasy) and De Realiteit (The Reality) were developed. This sounds impressive but these experiment were at a diminutive scale compared to the normal housing production. A third architectural experiment called De Eenvoud (The Simplicity) is nearing completion.

Two of the winning entries of the first design competition "De Fantasie", are located next to the Weerwater. These temporary dwellings have been expanded to become proper houses.

In 1982 the design contest titled "Ongewoon Wonen" (= unusual housing) was declared by the Committee De Fantasie. The central theme was to design an experimental dwelling without foundations as a temporary structure. Building regulations were waved. For the selected submissions 10 plots near the Weerwater lake were set aside by the Rijksdienst IJsselmeerpolders (the municipality of Almere had not yet been established) for a period of 5 years. The idea was to take the dwellings down after this exhibition period. They remained however, and have even been extended in parts.

The entries that were built for "De Realiteit" are equally adventurous, often displaying a typical Postmodern signature. On the left a house built from reused materials. On the right the house on stilts to evoke the fact that soil level is below sea level called "Boven de zeespiegel" (Above sea level) by Wagenaar & Weysenfeld.

Due to the success of the first design competition, it was followed in 1985 by a second one with the motto "Tijdelijk Wonen" (= temporary housing). Each winning entry was given a 20 by 20 metres square plot along a street with a building subsidy of 10.000 guilders. Along a street dubbed De Realiteit 17 structures were erected. Like the houses on The Fantasy, the buildings on The Reality have not been torn down, although they were meant as a temporary showcase of experimental housing solutions. As such these examples are comparable to housing expo's of the interwar period, like the Weissenhofsiedlung and the Werkbund Siedlung.

Another example of Postmodernism from "de Realiteit" called "De naam van het huis" (the name of the house) by Hans Hammink.

Following on from these experiments, it was decided in 2006 that there should be a third instalment called "De Eenvoud". Another design competition was launched; again focussing on creative new ways of (re)using materials and realising -relatively- cheap and simple freestanding dwellings. New was a focus on energy neutral living. The houses are being built on 12 plots located on the edge of a housing estate aimed at self-builders called Noorderplassen - Noordwest (North Lakes - Northwest).