Villa in Holland

The garage and bedrooms of this villa are located below ground level, the latter lit via generous embankments and a patio. Full-height glazing contrasts with introverted, closed areas. On the ground floor the picture is quite different: a curved glass wall stretching floor to ceiling with no detectable frame floods the interior with light and affords extensive all-round views. The Y-shaped ground plan is explained by the need to achieve optimum orientation for the various living areas: the dining room faces east/south-east, the office looks north-west, and the lounge north and south. So as not to obstruct the view with too many columns and walls the roof rests partly on concrete cores clad in wood or stone. Inside these cores are the ancillary areas. The roof is also supported by a bookcase, designed as a kind of structural Vierendeel girder. Only a single, cross-shaped supporting column is on view, which, clad thickly with rubber, serves as a stopper for the sizeable, marble-clad sliding door. This door is the only large opening in the glass facade; when it is open, the lounge merges seamlessly with the terrace and garden.