Right from the start, the new town Almere con­sid­ered itself not only an over­spill for Ams­ter­dam, but also a field for exper­i­men­ta­tion, espe­cial­ly for new urban­is­tic ideas.

The main objec­tive of the Home­rus dis­trict was to pro­vide self-build oppor­tu­ni­ties. The icon­ic urban plan was devel­oped by MVRDV and OMA. By set­ting up a spe­cial finan­cial arrange­ment and by offer­ing rel­a­tive­ly small plots, self-build has become acces­si­ble for low­er income groups. 

Neigh­bour­ing Duin, designed by land­scape firm ZUS, is a new-build area on 10-metre-high arti­fi­cial dunes. The hous­es are set in a sand land­scape with open gar­dens and col­lec­tive green area’s.