Everything starts with a square. A square can be turned, doubled, divided in two and then again in four, then its corners cut, stretched... and one page at a time, the shape of a house will start to appear.

The Dutch, however, love houses with low roofs, perfect for the countryside, and so these shapes change again to become hexagonal. For cities, on the other hand, you need a lot of rectangular houses, perhaps joined together by a bridge. Finally, adding doors, windows, a touch of colour, and from a series of geometric shapes, you get perfect Dutch houses.

Jeane D'aam's book for children is also an introduction to modern Dutch architecture.