Summer Houses In The Netherlands Between 1930-1940

Abstract

With the significant industrial and economic growth of the beginning of the twentieth century life was busy and of fast pace. Every now and then citizens wanted to escape from reality. Spending time in nature became popular and eventually the trend of outdoor-living emerged. After having been outside for a while people were able to return to their hectic city-life again. Outdoor recreation and camping laid the ground of what is now known as the weekend-, summer- or holiday house. The ones who could afford it let their own private summerhouse be designed in order to get regenerated by nature. Two main contrasting design approaches for summer houses were noticeable in the Netherlands between 1930-1940; romantic-picturesque and hygienic-sporting. The following question is researched: How did the two prominent ways of designing summer houses fulfil their originally intended function in the Netherlands between 1930-1940? Literary review on the emergence and development of the summer houses and their synonyms served as a background for the later discussed case studies. A series of case studies is included in a catalogue that is attached in the appendix. It was determined that the romantic-picturesque approach was most commonly used. It was characterised by proper integration in the environment and a focus on the exterior rather than the interior. The summerhouse was used after having spent time in nature all day. Therefore, protection against nature was provided by making little interruptions in the exterior and therefore giving it a closed character. The hygienic-sporting approach was characterized by the blurring of the building’s borders, letting interior overflow into exterior and therefore literally meeting the outdoor-living demands. Huge openable curtain walls made the garden an extension of the living room and lured people to do sports and play games outside. The focus was rather on the functionality than the aesthetic value. The research elaborates on the two main design approaches but does not deny the existing of in-between approaches as well.