The Houses on Pontanusstraat

Turn left into the Pontanussstraat and stop at the first crossing on your right.
You see that narrow, steep stairway? Precisely on the corner? That connects and, at the same time, distinguishes the closed section on the main road from the more open part containing experimental dwellings along the less busy street. The convergence of a busy thoroughfare and a quiet residential street at a sharp corner was the point of departure of Van der Pol’s design for a housing block.

These dwellings have an open floor plan, made possible by spanning a beam on columns, in between which the residents can have partitions inserted. All the rooms are accessible from the centrally situated hall via sliding doors.

The image of the glass façade, staggered balconies and the curtain of metal rods and hoisting beams on this side forms a sharp contrast with the dark, rust-coloured plating material and the simple window pattern of the section along the thoroughfare.