Built Overnight: Gecekondu in Sausalito Almere
At the ‘beach’ of Amsterdam’s new suburb Almere, our friends of DUS Architects have built an illegal temporary summer house slash hotel which opened its doors three days ago. The construction, which is built in one night, is completely made of typical plastic bags filled with sand. Gecekondu literally means ‘built overnight’. Gecekondu is a Turkish term referring to a house quickly built without proper permissions, a squatter’s house. During this summer, the hotel will be a private lodging with room for four people to sleep and with shower and toilet facilities on short walking distance.
The project is a proclamation against the formal and over-regulated Dutch planning culture. Spontaneity as one can experience in cities like Berlin and Istanbul, seems to be completely banned from the Dutch cities these days. The Gecekondu is part of the temporary beach village Sausalito, named after the famous artist village on the other side of the San Francisco bay. Staying at Gecekondu is totally free. For additional information on availability and to make a reservation, send an email to: reservations@dusarchitects.com.
