Starting point
The client has acquired an existing bungalow from 1971 on a spacious wooded plot in Oss, The Netherlands. The house, made of concrete stone, has been renovated several times over the years, so that the original qualities have completely disappeared. The existing house also had no special relationship with the garden and was in a poor energetic condition. All this made a rigorous intervention necessary. The assignment concerns total sustainability to new construction level (gas-free and energy neutral), a better relationship between the residential program and the garden and the existing swimming pool and a complete aesthetic metamorphosis of the bungalow.
Approach
The existing house is characterized by a strongly irregular and disjointed volume structure. After cleaning up the countless non-original extensions, the irregularity of the basic volume was initially further enhanced by continuing the desired house extension in the same illogical contour. The outdoor spaces that the volume envelops in this way are then defined by the addition of a large roof, which reaches the extreme corners of the floor plan. In a number of places the roof has large holes in it for daylight entry and it takes different forms in its appearance; from carport to entrance awning, from veranda to pergola.
Inside and outside
A raised part in the heart of the home accentuates the central kitchen-diner and allows daylight to penetrate deep into the home. In this way, the heart of the house also has a view of the tall trees surrounding the plot, making the wooded environment experienceable everywhere in the house. The central kitchen-diner cuts straight through the house and connects the front and rear gardens, which are used for entertaining at different times of the day. The integrated verandas offer a multitude of possibilities to combine indoor and outdoor living.
Materialization
The facades are clad with vertical pre-greyed wooden planks in fraké, to achieve a beautiful natural integration into the green environment. The columns that support the new roof are in natural colored oak and have been treated to prevent graying. This creates a lasting subtle contrast against the gray background. The other vertical element, the outdoor fireplace, is clad in brown natural stone and matches the columns in color nuance.
