In the early 1900s, shipbuilder P. Roeis commissioned Frans Smet-Verhas to design a housing complex. This project would eventually produce “The House of Five Continents,” the only building in the complex to feature the physical hull of a boat. It juts out the corner of “The House” and is so iconic that locals have nicknamed the building “Het Bootje,” or “Little Boat.”
As with many who have come across this building, the boat was the first part of “The House” that caught my eye. It adds to the obscurity and wonder of “The House of Five Continents.” For me, the boat pulls together the entire building as the main focal point of the structure and ties together the eclectic style of the building as a whole. For my build, the boat will take more attention to keep its stylized Art Nouveau look while keeping it recognizable. Here’s a timelapse of the process of building this section of the building:
