The veen|houses are designed by Adrianus Kundert and are made at Eerst Wijk in Veenhuizen by women living in the COA in Assen. The candle contains humic acid from peat soils, giving the veen|houses the appearance of a peat block. Each veen|house is wrapped in a paper print of the original building plan by architect Willem Metzelaar.
 
In 1859, two prisons and many houses were built rapidly. The architecture of the houses revealed the strict hierarchy among the justice department personnel at the time; each rank resided in a different architectural design. The veen|houses come in two forms: type II is a residential block located behind the prison museum, where civil servants of low rank lived. Type IV is a double house and was intended for teachers.
 
The veen|houses originated with Collectie Veenhuizen and are now part of the VEENlijn.