The garden of my grandmothers’ house is linked to the garden of my family home, which for me makes the property one whole, close to my childhood times. In the 1980s, a houseware shop was part of this house. This is still noticeable by the large shop windows at the ground floor. She owned it together with my grandfather, who made the rest of the building their home. In the design I transformed the same space into a shop with vending machines, questioning the relationship between buyer and seller. The shop is connected to the living room, which is transformed into a kind of sitting area to enjoy the purchased acquisitions. The benches and tables are large swings. They are a flashback to the swing my grandfather made us during our childhood. The swing got lost. They are implemented in the design as a reminder.
When I made this design, my grandmother (also called ‘oma’ in Dutch) was still with us. I see this project as an ode to her and her husband.