Tiny forever: it’s possible in Den Helder

At the bottom of this article you will find the fourth question of the TinyFindy summer contest, with which you can win an overnight stay in a Tiny House!

When you wander over the Falgatuinen in Nieuw Den Helder these days, it’s like a beehive with activity: gardens are being maintained, houses are being built or future residents are preparing the construction of their Tiny House. After a number of years of ‘calm before the storm’, the permanent Tiny House project of the Den Helder Housing Foundation is finally taking shape.

Every aspiring Tiny House resident knows that it is a matter of perseverance, starting a project for houses with a permanent permit. In Den Helder there is at least one big advantage: the municipality does not need to be convinced that Tiny Houses are of added value.

the tiny bungalow of José and Hans, design by Min2 bouw-kunst

The driving forces behind the Tiny House project in Den Helder are the Den Helder Housing Association and the municipality of Den Helder. Land is offered for rent by the first party, the municipality is doing everything it can to guide residents through the permit process with advice and assistance. Because this is a permanent residential project, getting the required permits is one of the biggest hurdles that must be overcome. In order to obtain a building and environmental permit, the requirements set by the Building Decree on a home must be met.  But anywhere the municipality can find the space to loosen the strings somewhat within the regulations, they do.

And there you have it. Within five years the construction of a complete Tiny House district with about 30 houses has started. Within a predefined framework, residents are given every opportunity to develop their own vision of small, sustainable and ecological living. This is how José and Hans make their dream of living in a bungalow come true with a design by Min2 bouw-kunst. This architectural duo is also responsible for the design of the two social rental Tiny Houses in the project, the fisherman’s house and the caterpillar house.

A little further down the path, Thea and Oscar live in the first Dutch Tiny House on wheels with a permanent environmental permit.

Mylene and Roy confirm the great advantage of prefab construction with their house on a screw foundation. Their house was built in one day and they now enjoy a house with a fully landscaped garden that will become more and more integrated into the dune landscape over time. Exactly the image that the municipality of Den Helder and the housing association have in mind for this district.

Within frameworks such as a maximum gross building area of ​​32m2, residents are challenged to shape their own designs. The architects and construction firms that have been engaged show their creativity: a Tiny House with a tiled roof and a beautiful round shape is reminiscent of the construction style from the 1930s. While the fisherman’s cottage of Min2 bouw-kunst has the appearance of a house on stilts, which would not look out of place in a travel brochure with the destination ‘in the East’. KJK architects from Den Helder is the crowning glory with a movable floor in the loft. The creativity of the architect shows how you can play with the rules to create a unique design. The construction of this house will start in mid-September of this year.

Within the Falga Gardens you will also find the classic Tiny Houses on wheels. Such as Bo and Annemiek’s house with a cozy gabled roof, built by Your Tiny House. Or a romantic gypsy-wagon 3.0 such as Nicolien’s house.

The outward design of the houses are not the only creative aspect. The different visions on sustainable building are also reflected in the designs. For example, the design of Marina and Gideon’s sleek house, inspired by a Scandinavian barn, offers the opportunity to have the house come to Den Helder in prefab parts. Within a day, the house is wind and watertight and the future residents can start finishing the building themselves.

With all the space that is offered to residents in the Falgatuinen, there are a number of restrictions as well: the aforementioned maximum gross construction area of ​​32m2 (with the option of 48m2 living space), the choice of whether or not to request a connection to the water supply, responsibility over the processing of waste water, which is solved by the residents with various IBA systems: for example with helophyte filters and IBA compact systems. And: being self-sufficient in electricity with solar panels and batteries.

The first phase of this for Dutch standards large Tiny House project has finally started. The second phase is planned for mid-2023.

This article was written in collaboration with Marina van der Wal, future resident of the Falgatuinen. Thank you very much Marina!

the Tiny House of Corry