Huis­je van Sluij­mer

Huisje van Sluijmer is the name of the unique building on the corner of Kromme Nieuwegracht and Drift. This ultra-modern construction of glass and steel forms a striking contrast to the historical buildings that surround it.

History
After a house was demolished on this corner in 1940, the local authorities did not allow anything new to be built there. There were plans to widen the entire street by a few metres, and possibly demolish the adjacent buildings as well.

The three-by-five-metre site remained undeveloped for many decades, but once it became apparent that these plans would not be going ahead, the Utrecht architectural firm Sluijmer & Van Leeuwen came up with an alternative plan. However, objections by local residents ended up delaying the planning process for years, with the result that the construction of the house did not begin until 2002. Although it took quite some time to get it off the ground, goodwill for the new house is now in abundance: in 2003, the architectural firm received the AD/UN Public Award for the design.

Architecture
Huisje van Sluijmer is a seven-storey house with a total living area of 117m2. It contains two old wharf cellars (which also house the living room), guest quarters and a roof terrace, as well as two bathrooms, two kitchens and three toilets. The bedroom is on the top floor. If you lie back, you can see the stars through the glass ceiling. Both the kitchen and the roof terrace have views of the Dom. A large portion of the furniture has been designed to make optimum use of the limited space available in the building.