Island-Cabins An exploration of the meaning of recreational houses for hosts and visitors in tourism dependent natural regions, a case study on the Dutch Wadden island Vlieland S.P. Overheul Msc Architecture thesis June 2014 Explore-Lab graduation studio 2013-2014 Department of Architecture, TU Delft S.P. Overheul [s1538152] [email protected] Main mentor, architectural design R. Nottrot Technical building design mentor Y. Cuperus Thesis mentor G. Verschuure-Stuip Commissioner board of examiners D. Vitner My dearest thanks to everyone who has contributed to this master thesis and graduation project as a whole: for their participation with the interviews and surveys, practical assistance, inspiration and moral support. On Vlieland, carrying out the qualitative research, November 2013 (S. Oudenaarden 2013) left: Vlieland in between the Wadden islands Texel and Terschelling Right: West Vlieland and the project location (Google earth 2014) Abstract A new large series of recreational dwellings in the forests on Dutch Wadden island Vlieland means that more visitors will be able to enjoy Vlieland and the local economy will benefit from the extra visitors, yet the experience of the island will also change. It is important to find out how Vlielanders as well as their visitors perceive recreational houses on Vlieland in order to make the changes that are caused by this project positive ones. This thesis project thus integrates two concepts from architecture/regional development and sociology: place-identity and sustainable tourism development. The meaning of recreational houses for people hosting tourism on Vlieland and visitors to the island was explored through a qualitative study consisting of interviews and questionnaires during the fall of 2013. Overall the objective of this study was to explore the participants' ideas around recreational houses on Vlieland in preparation for an architectural design. The results from the qualitative study confirm this dissertation's statement on the potent role of recreational houses both for the hosts' and the visitors' experience of Vlieland. The sustainable tourism development framework that is conventionally defined in terms of economic, social-cultural and ecological impacts could therefore be refocused for touristic destinations for whom place-identity is an essential asset. By focusing on the impact that developments have on the place- identity, firstly the feeling of belonging (community, social-cultural aspect), secondly a place's attractiveness (tourism, economy), and lastly the care for the attractive natural landscape (ecology) are at once taken into account. View through the salt stained windows of the ferry approaching the pier on Vlieland (own picture 2007) Content Preface p. 1 Introduction p. 3 A. Preliminary exploration - Recreational houses: history on Vlieland, architectural discourse, sociological studies 1. Vlieland's historical development of recreational houses p. 6 2. Vlieland's current development of recreational houses p. 12 3. Western architecture discourse on basic recreational dwellings and architecture for tourism p. 17 4. Northern European sociological studies on recreational housing and sustainable tourism p. 21 B. Research project - Recreational houses' meaning for locals and tourists on Vlieland 5. Research project set-up p. 27 6. Results of interviews with hosts about recreational houses on Vlieland p. 33 7. Results of questionnaire with visitors about recreational houses on Vlieland p. 41 8. Discussion: the meaning of recreational houses for hosts and visitors on Vlieland p. 57 Conclusion p. 62 C. Graduation design project 9. Translation of the research project into starting points for the design project p. 67 10. Reflection on research & design p. 70 11. Resulting design in diagrams and drawings p. 86 Bibliography p. 92 Preface My favorite holidays were always the ones spent on the Dutch Wadden island Vlieland. At first Vlieland was mostly a convenient holiday destination because friends invited us to stay at their summer house. Yet something about the island made us long to return and leaving always made me feel a little homesick. Of course, when something enjoyable like a holiday ends it always causes at least some feeling of regret. However there is something about living (temporarily) on Vlieland that is easy to get used to and easy to get attached to; for me living on Vlieland mingles the contradictory holiday- and homeliness-feelings into an addictive mixture. Throughout the years we stayed in various hotels, tents and summer houses. These houses were mostly a means to be on Vlieland. Still, they always somewhat influenced my experience of the island - especially when in the summer of 2006 we discovered a very enjoyable yet sober summer house, the 'Hut', perched on top of a dune. The experience of the house fell into harmony with the island's character; intimate, basic, and in touch with the surroundings. Amongst the books of the house stood the publication Over Bouwen Gesproken about the architect and owner of the house, Gerard Schouten (1924-2000). He also designed a large series of bungalows near the Hut and service buildings for camping 'Stortemelk' on Vlieland. I chose to investigate Schouten's work and his relationship with Vlieland for my architectural history thesis project. One year later as I was looking for a graduation project, I learnt that the local organization Stichting Recreatiebelangen Vlieland that commissioned Schouten's work for the bungalow park and the camping in the 1960s and 1990s, was again planning to develop new recreational houses. My architectural history thesis project had strengthened my appreciation of the synergy between architectural design and the experience of a place. In addition I had greatly enjoyed doing empirical research and consequently the actuality of this case attracted me. Lastly, my great appreciation of the island enhanced in me the sense of the responsibility of an architect to design something that is in accordance with the place and people involved. The title of my thesis Island-Cabins, reveals my personal inclination towards designing a rather basic form of recreational dwelling for Vlieland. Writing the thesis has helped to substantiate and give wider relevance to my 1 initial hunch about this project on Vlieland. So, while this thesis is a means to a particular end; namely to arrive at starting points for an architectural design for a series of island cabins that fit in with Vlieland's character, I hope it also contributes to the discussion about how architecture may enhance the sustainable development of touristic natural regions. The ferry, photographed along the dike towards the village in the west (own picture 2013) 2 Introduction The development of a large series of new recreational dwellings in the forests of the smallest and most remote Dutch Wadden island Vlieland means that more visitors will be able to enjoy Vlieland's reviving qualities and the local economy will benefit from the extra visitors, yet the character of the island will also be affected. Due to the unprecedented scale of 30-50 houses and unprecedented location1 in the forests at a busy crossroads of the camping and the village area, the change will be quite noticeable for Vlielanders and their visitors. There will inevitably be evident impacts on the island's nature, the local economy, the atmosphere, etc. but more importantly, it will also change how people experience the island's landscape, touristic culture, its atmosphere: in short, Vlieland's identity will be affected. Vlieland's community is heavily dependent on the tourism industry: this implies great economic interests, but the quality of their social-cultural life and their environment is also very important for Vlielanders to make a home on the island. In addition the tourism industry mainly exists because visitors greatly value Vlieland's characteristics that make it a positive place to be. Therefore, it is important to find out what recreational houses mean to the Vlielanders as well as their visitors in order to make the changes that are brought to the island by this housing project positive or 'sustainable' ones. This project therefore integrates two concepts from architecture/regional development and sociology: place-identity and sustainable tourism development. The meaning of recreational houses for people hosting tourism on Vlieland and visitors to the island will be explored through a qualitative study of interviews and questionnaires in the fall of 2013. Overall the objective of this study is to explore the participants' ideas about recreational houses on Vlieland in preparation for an architectural design. Because the empirical research is limited to Vlieland during the fall of 2013, the results will only be able to serve as an hypothetical example of how place-identity may be applied to the purpose of sustainable tourism development. The thesis is divided up in three sections (A, B, and C) which consequently deal with a preliminary literature investigation on the topic of recreational house development and the concepts of place-identity and sustainable 1 Vlieland's summer houses are by definition "Duinhuisjes", "Dune houses" distanced from other hubs of activity on the island 3 tourism development; part B discusses the empirical research method and the results; and finally in part C the results of the qualitative study are translated into an architectural design for a series of recreational houses on Vlieland. Section A will chronologically discuss events on Vlieland in order to introduce central issues around the development of recreational houses and then explore these themes in relevant contemporary architectural literature and sociological studies. In section B a discussion of the empirical research project on Vlieland will lead to the conclusion of the research part of the graduation project. Section C then takes information obtained during the empirical research to create a set of starting-points for the ensuing design project, which is presented at the end of this dissertation. Throughout the thesis (at the end of each chapter) a collection of pictures of Vlieland are shown in order to give the reader an impression of the setting.