The Volume House / VLOT architecten

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Text description provided by the architects.Near the Dutch coast and with three kilometers of uninterrupted view of a nature reserve, a holiday home has been designed for a large family.The color scheme is restrained and relates to the colors of the natural environment. Where possible, materials with a low CO2 footprint have been chosen. Larch and pine for the main load-bearing structure, internal and external walls in timber frame construction, fraké for the façade finish, MDF for the wall finish, and linoleum as the floor finish. The holiday home was built with prefabricated components and without a traditional main contractor. VLOT architecten were largely responsible for the preparation and coordination between the various subcontractors. This reduced construction costs, ensured quality and kept the design process ongoing until the final delivery.The house is organized by an enclosed volume centrally placed in the floor plan, where all supporting functions are accommodated. This volume has an introverted and spatially diverse character and marks the transition between public and private areas. In this part of the building, the free height is varied, ranging from a loft bed with approx. 1,5 meters free height to the entrance hall with 4 meters free height. The volume has thick walls that emphasize the transition from one space to another and also incorporate space for wardrobes, kitchen cabinets, air ducts, electricity, and plumbing. The relationship with the surroundings in this part of the house is mainly vertical, with skylights placed in various positions to view passing clouds.On either side of this volume are the living spaces. The bedrooms are sheltered among the trees on the north side, and the living area on the south side with expansive views of the nature reserve. Here, the relationship with the surroundings is much more horizontal. The living spaces have a fundamentally different character from the rooms in the volume; they are placed in a light structure of laminated wooden columns and beams. The volume is made of more massive CLT walls and floors. The light structure of columns and beams is modularly set up on a grid of 3,000mm. In this structure, window frames, and internal and external walls are placed. These are designed to be detachable from the main load-bearing structure to provide flexibility for the future. This way, spaces can be merged or added over time. The modular setup is made tangible in the interior by finishing the walls with MDF paneling at a width of 600mm.