Polderblik

In 1985, the “De Fantasie” foundation organized the second “temporary living” competition in Almere. Architect Teun Koolhaas was one of the 17 prize winners granted a plot of land for a duration of five years to realize their designs. Due to this limited timeframe, the buildings were intended to have a temporary character.

Today, this once-temporary residential experiment, “The Reality” (De Realiteit), is nominated to become modern heritage. It has become a popular destination for many architectural excursions, set within what is now a mature green environment.

From the original project description for Teun Koolhaas’s competition entry, “Polderblik”: “As the name of the building suggests, the primary source of inspiration for the design was the polder landscape. The designer has always been deeply fascinated by the vastness and the enormous scale of the polder.”

Since 2022, Polderblik has been owned by Teun Koolhaas’s youngest son, Jesse Koolhaas, and his wife Yula Altchouler – Koolhaas.

The house was renovated and made future-proof based on an original design by Teun Koolhaas, with the assistance of architect Wouter Kroeze. This has turned Polderblik into the place Teun had ultimately intended it to be: an inspiring space used as a studio, practice, for recreation, brainstorming sessions, and much more.

Polderblik is and will remain an icon in the landscape of Almere.

In 2016, Teun’s family established the Polderblik Foundation (Stichting Polderblik) to manage his legacy and to organize various activities from Polderblik. For several years, the foundation used the building as its location. While the building is no longer the foundation’s central hub, the name Polderblik remains closely tied to the foundation.

— The Polderblik Foundation is an independent organization aimed at utilizing past and present knowledge and experiences of Almere to facilitate a dialogue regarding the city’s sustainable development.