Het Hofje

Abstract

The building type known as ‘little courtyard’ (‘hofje’ in Dutch) is a group of townhouse dwellings that share a common outside space and that is situated on the inside of a city block. Hofjes constitute a durable element inside the structure of a typical Dutch city. They are built with private funds and serve as elements of social welfare. Ever popular, in this day and age hofjes constitute a quiet living environment: a green oasis in the middle of the city.
As a rule, hofjes are hard to find: one does not typically stumble upon them. However, this has not inhibited their ability to become a solid component of the Dutch collective memory. On the other hand a number of very visible and even quite monumental hofjes have been built, that were designed by the best architects of their time.
The double agenda of providing housing for poor people of old age and solidifying the memory of a rich founder of the hofje (collectivism and monument) lays the groundwork for the architectural development of the building type. As such, the charitable hofje has become a typical example of urban architecture.
This architectural study -the commercial edition of PHD research- analysises the Hofje as 1. an urban element, an enclosed innerblock living environment and 2. the development of its representation. Drawings play a major role, in terms of research method and result.