photo by Marcel van der Burg

The Stripe House is a new home in the Netherlands designed by GAAGA Studio Architecture. It is built in a new neighborhood of rowhouses where the parcels were sold as bare land and each owner had their house individually designed. Unlike most of the neighboring houses, the Stripe House is set back from the front property line. Because the house fronts on a narrow pedestrian street, the architects increased the separation from the houses opposite by creating a small entry court that takes up a quarter of the lot. They compensated for the lost building area by going up with a three story structure. The name Stripe House refers to the horizontal grooves troweled into the exterior stucco finish, adding texture and refinement to facades that would otherwise have appeared somewhat monotonous. The other obvious feature of the exterior is the enormous, storefront-sized windows. Note though that some of the windows are flanked by white panels that make them appear larger than they really are.

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