Corkfacade Leiden is ‘Houseboat of the year 2022’ by VLOT

As of today, the houseboat ‘Mans’ with corkfacade (location Leiden, the Netherlands) can officially call itself ‘Houseboat of the Year 2022’. According to the jury, the houseboat of residents Aarnoud Monster and Nienke Middelweerd is distinguished by its well-thought-out simplicity. The innovative circular material choices and the integration in the surroundings of ‘houseboat Mans’ also means that the professional jury declares Mans Houseboat of the Year 2022.

The design with Corkfacade

In a bend of the canal lies an ark that seems to be going around the bend itself. Aarnoud and Nienke wanted anything but the dreaded rectangular box. They succeeded: Ark Mans is ‘out of the box’, both in terms of shape and material. Mans consists of modules placed next to each other in a sawtooth pattern, following the shape of the facades of the houses in the street. This way every window has the best view. The subdivision in the polders in the area inspired the subdivision on the ark, in which each ‘lot’ on board has its own function. Inside a ‘cozy’ sitting pit as a living room, where the underwater area is covered with carpet. This way you are constantly aware of the waterline. Especially when you’re sitting in the wide windowsill.

The construction with a facade of cork

CLT, or cross laminated timber, was used for the entire ark. The walls and ceiling construction are visible. And by continuing the plots in the ceiling and folding the roof, a stable construction is created and no supporting beams are required. This design thus provides an optimization of 2000 kilos of wood savings. The design was largely done by Aarnoud and Nienke themselves. Together with befriended creative Caspar Cienjet, all ideas started to take shape. Studio RAP came up with the cork facade by Pro Suber® and together this became a wonderful project. Most of the construction was done in-house. All prefab CLT parts fit on a single truck and are assembled in one day (in rain and wind!).

Cork as a facade

The cork facade cladding is very successful. And it also turns out to be very innovative. You can have elegant shapes CNC cut, as you can see in the finish of the frames. As facade cladding, it is breathable, insulating, algae-resistant and acoustic. The neighborhood is happy with a deliberately chosen green roof, without solar panels. The energy for this all-electric ark is purchased locally. Something very pure and daring has been created in a very own way.

Congratulations to Aarnoud & Nienke