Wall House

Building

Wall House

Location

Groningen, The Netherlands

Architect

John Hejduk

Year of completion

1973 (2001)

How to get there

I went by car, but it can also be reached by public transport. From Groningen Central Station take bus 6, direction "Hoornse Meer Wijk". Get out at the lake (it's best if you tell/ask the bus driver). Then walk alongside the shore of the lake heading south until you see the Wall House at your right hand.

Comments

Originally designed in 1973 for a long time the building only existed as a concept until the city of Groningen decided to actually build the house. Sadly it wasn't completed until after John Hejduk's death. Visually and conceptually it is a fascinating house. The different living spaces, bedroom, kitchen and living room are stacked on top of each other on one side of the wall. On the other side of the wall is a staircase leading to the different floors, two spaces for facilities and a long corridor leading up to the wall. The living spaces are curved, the facilities geometrical. If I'm not mistaken the other curved space next to the corridor was not part of the original design, but was added later by John Hejduk at the request of the client who wanted an office space. As you can see the house stands on an open lot at the edge of a residential area and although it wasn't designed for this particular site, it does enter into a dialogue with its surroundings. I visited the house during an "open house" and I must say that I find it more interesting from the outside than from the inside. The windows are nice and the view of the lake is great, but once inside the building doesn't afford any interesting spatial experiences the way Villa La Roche and Villa Savoye do, to name but two other famous houses. What I love about Villa La Roche for example, is that you can take different routes through the building.