Zevenlandenhuizen, Amsterdam

Zevenlandenhuizen is a row of seven houses, each presenting a different European architectural tradition. Tjeerd Kuipers designed the group in 1894 for Amsterdam client Sam van Eeghen. As you follow the façades, the details shift from pointed-arch windows associated with Germany to a French château treatment, a Spanish villa with Moorish influence, an Italian palazzo, a Russian form with an onion dome, a Dutch Renaissance house, and an English cottage.

The row grew from nineteenth-century fascination with distant places, expressed through the eclectic architecture of its era. Kuipers became known especially for church design, but this sequence of residences remains among his best-known works. The changing silhouettes make the street read almost like a compact architectural journey across Europe.