By: Leonard Henny | 2006/05/17 | Destination: The Netherlands
Living on the water has a long history in The Netherlands. Since the 16th century much of goods and voyagers were transported by boat, towed by horsepower or sailing on the wind along the many age old canals and over the inland seas and lakes of Holland. The skipper families can be considered the first houseboat dwellers on the earth. It was after the Second World War that the scarcity in the housing market forced many more people to live on the water, mostly in converted freight ships. The newest trend in living on the water in The Netherlands goes in the direction of planned floating communities. The architectural firm AQUATECTURE has designed the first planned floating community in Terwijde, near Utrecht, and is active in the design of private “water mansions” for IJburg, near Amsterdam.
