Aluminum window and folding wall systems give houseboats even more appeal

Floating homes are popular in the Netherlands and far beyond. Spruyt Waterwoningen Nederland builds quite a few houseboats in different sizes and designs every year. The specialist from Heerenveen is also the developer behind Park Folclaghe (Follega). Architect Alwin Minks designed sixteen floating and four ground-level recreational water homes, equipped with aluminum window and folding wall systems from Aliplast Aluminum Systems. In addition to the New Panorama folding wall on the terrace, the round Star 75 windows of the bedrooms in particular give these "villas" a little more allure.

"Since 1962, the name Spruyt has been synonymous with high-quality, custom-built floating homes: from a concrete hull to a fully finished and furnished houseboat. When this unique company laid down the books in early 2015, as a long-time employee I could not let the knowledge and experience present go to waste and decided to continue the activities at the same location," states business manager Arjen Jonker of the current Spruyt Waterwoningen Nederland. "We build houseboats, but also clubhouses, stores, offices, swimming pools, ... These can also be larger projects with several arks. All these floating structures rest on a rock-solid concrete hull and are completely tailored to the wishes of the clients: single-, double- or triple-layered, made of steel, wood or glass, with a flat roof, a round roof or an open roof construction. Anything is possible, as long as it is technically feasible. A project starts with a meeting at the customer's premises or a visit to the workshop in Heerenveen. Work is done from the customer's plans, but if required, a designer is also available."

Villas on and along the waterfront

Alwin Minks is one of the regular designers for Spruyt. He has specialized in the design of arks for many years, first employed by Spruyt Arkenbouw, then as an architect by profession and now even with his own design studio. "I worked at the ark builder for many years, so I know the company inside out. When Arjen and Bianca Jonker took over the business, they soon came to me again with their assignments. This is also how I was assigned the 'Park Folclaghe' project. This recreational water park with sixteen floating and four ground-level water dwellings is located right next to the Tjeukemeer in the village of Follega in the provinsje Fryslán," says the architect. "I visited the location and collected visual material. Thus I came across a print with a row of sailing boats, immediately the basic principle for my design. The color palette was also predetermined. All houseboats measure 14 by 6.6 meters, including a spacious terrace, and are built with sustainable materials: concrete foundation, sandwich panels as roof and walls, wooden cladding, aluminum window frames, solar panels, heat pump system. They have the same view, but inside, the owners get to do their own thing."

Aluminum window and folding wall system

All window and door systems were produced by Aliplast Aluminium Systems, together with installer Gerard Peters Aluminiumbouw BV from Gaanderen, a longtime partner of Spruyt Waterwoningen. On the side of the terrace, the New Panorama folding wall system was chosen, allowing the facade to be opened over the entire width resulting in an unrestricted view of the water and surroundings. This solution has a built-in depth of 75 mm for frame and sash and a view width between 15 and 58 mm for the frame and 73 mm for the sash. It is suitable for glass thicknesses between 9 and 50 mm and available with 2 to 8 sashes, both inward and outward opening.

"The side walls are more closed and contain Star 75 windows. This system has an installation depth of 75 mm for the outer frame and 84 mm for the sash and is suitable for glass thicknesses between 12 and 61 mm for the frame and between 21 and 69 mm for the sash. With a Uw value of 0.94 W/m²K, an airtightness class 4 and an acoustic value of 47.1 dB (-1,-4), this solution fits perfectly into applications with the most stringent thermal and acoustic insulation requirements. The round windows on the bedrooms are particularly striking and were also the biggest challenge to produce. Thanks to our bending machines, however, we can also accurately produce such profiles," explains project manager Joris de Zeeuw of Aliplast. "As with other projects, all systems were custom-made and brought to the 'shipyard' as kits by Gerard Peters' fitters. After all, at Spruyt the arks are largely built in the workshop and only come out when they are almost finished. The aluminum joinery is also assembled on dry land. By the way, we give a 25-year warranty on the paint. After all, the Qualicoat Seaside quality label guarantees that the paint color is extra protected against aggressive environments, for example near water."