In the Green Heart of Holland, an old barn makes way for a new house. Following visits to a pair of Mirck Architecture’s Daylighthouses, the owners commissioned a light and wooden house.
The special open-plan living area is formed by two combined roof structures, of the annex and the main house, from the southeast to the southwest. The kitchen area in the annex on the south-east side has a large skylight. The best view opens up towards the south-west emphasized by roof overhangs.
Gabled roofs were chosen to fit the rural location. The large roof of the house together with the smaller roofs of the annexed parts form a spatial whole. The thatched volumes are arranged around a patio, open on the entrance side. The patio is sunken to provide daylight and views to the basement.
The volumes are constructed with a combination of wooden columns, horizontal and diagonal beams, and CLT surfaces. An open staircase spatially connects the basement, ground floor and first floor. The three bedrooms on the first floor have tall windows in the north-facing flat-roof dormer.
The facades are finished with vertical wooden planks. In places the thatched roof extends further towards ground level. All window frames are of clear-varnished wood and span from floor to thatch. There is a wooden gallery on the patio as a route to the entrance and downstairs. The balustrades are stretched nets.
Daylight levels 21st March
Location: Green Heart, Utrecht
Size: circa 300m2 bvo
Design: 2022-2024
Construction: 2025-2026
Team: Sander Mirck, David Künzel, Maurice Visser, Sini Huttunen