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Architects: Powerhouse Company
- Area: 407 m²
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Sebastian van Damme
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Manufacturers: Focus
Text description provided by the architects. Based on an elongated U-shaped floorplan, our Villa JM presents a secretive stone face to the world, revealing only a tantalizing glimpse of its inner world in the shape of its central courtyard. Inspired by the location, an extensive wooded site in the south of the Netherlands, we discreetly positioned expanses of glass to offer our clients the best of the natural views, while closed volumes safeguard their privacy. Natural stone and wood add depth to our elementary one-story design, which pairs sober straight lines and monumental volumes with seductive curves and sinuous glass walls.
Woodland Retreat. From the road, Villa JM is a closed stone rectangle, pierced only by one large opening. This monumental opening reveals its inner courtyard garden, giving a hint of the warm interior. By raising the entire building, including all terraces, some 40cm above ground level, we add to its monumentality and presence in the landscape, while providing the villa with several integrated terraces. The glass-walled courtyard garden translates the surrounding landscape into a domestic context. A small annex houses the bike garage, dog’s quarters, and covered parking.
The Lightness of Being. While the heavy stone volumes and austere straight lines recall a serene retreat, the curved lines and glass walls evoke the lightness of being. The latter emerges especially in the living room, which is bounded entirely by glass. Only one small section, detailed in the facade in richly veined marble, is closed. Simple white plaster surfaces and carefully crafted built-in furniture elements enhance the uncluttered esthetic.
