Metamorphosis 70’s bungalow Oss / Bas Termeer Architect

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Text description provided by the architects.Starting pointThe client had acquired an existing bungalow from 1971 on a spacious wooded plot inOss, The Netherlands. The house made of concrete stone, had been altered several times over the years, so the original qualities had completely disappeared. The existing house also offered no special relationship with the garden and was in a poor energetic condition. All this called for a rigorous intervention. The assignment concerned total sustainability to an energy neutral level, a better relationship between the residential program and the garden and the existing swimming pool and last but not least a complete aesthetic metamorphosis of the bungalow.Materialization and constructionThe facades are clad in vertical pre-greyed thermally preserved wooden planks, 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 its color nuance. All building materials were purchased by the client himself, to keep control of costs. The actual construction of the house was done by a team of skilled professionals in close collaboration with the client and the architect.Inside and outsideA raised part in the heart of the home accentuates the central kitchen-diner and allows daylight to penetrate deep into the house. 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 by the residents for entertaining at different times of the day. The integrated verandas offer a multitude of possibilities to combine indoor and outdoor living.ApproachThe 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 encloses in this way are then defined by the addition of a large roof, which marks the extreme corners of the floor plan. In a number of places the roof has large holes in it for daylight entry and to embrace mature trees. In this way the roof takes different forms in its appearance; from carport to entrance awning, from veranda to pergola.