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WATER LIVING
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W e wa nted to ta ke a closer look at A msterda m, a city th at h as a special r el ationship with the water. For m a ny yea rs it was one of the worlds leading tr ade cities a nd m ost of the goods wher e tr a nsported on water. A n intricate ca nal syste m brought the goods right to your front door. L ater houses wher e also built on the ca nals. The idea of living on the water sta rted during the sixties. A n alter nativ e group the cities r esidents decided to build their houses on boats, Woonboten (r esidential boats), this way they could m ov e their house whenev er they wa nted. The pheno menon beca m e widespr ead a nd nowadays ther e a r e m or e th a n 3000 floating houses in the A msterda m a r ea alone. Howev er the Woonboten is no longer only for the alter nativ e lifesytle, today a Woonboten is a r eal option for the av er age middle cl ass dutch fa mily. During the l ast 50 yea rs the woonbooten h as dev eloped in differ ent ways, so m e of the m a r e used as hotels a nd offices. The houseboats a r e co mforta ble a nd h av e electricity, ru n ning water, telephone, etc. Ther e a r e thr ee differ ent kinds of woonbooten:
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WATER LIVING
h tt p :// www . s u p e r s u s t a in a b l e . o r g
During the l ast 50 yea rs the woonbooten h as dev eloped in differ ent ways, so m e of the m a r e used as hotels a nd offices. The houseboats a r e co mforta ble a nd h av e electricity, ru n ning water, telephone, etc. Ther e a r e thr ee differ ent kinds of woonbooten:
- The Ship House is built using a n old ca rgo boat. This is the typical houseboat, it is m ade of steel a nd is the l a rgest one because its inh a bita nts ca n use the space once used for the load of the ship.
- The V essel House keeps only the hull, the cockpit a nd the boat deck a r e ta ken away fro m the boat, these house boats ca n only be m ov ed occasionally.
- The A r k House is fa bricated to be a r esidential u nit. It is m ade of wood or bricks a nd built on a squa r e hull m ade of steel or concr ete.