Living Pavilion

View of the extension to the house.

Project Details

• Project Name: Living Pavilion
• Client: Fam. Punt
• Project Type: Luxury housing
• Principal Designer: Joost van Veen
• Design Team: Geen Punt Architecten BNA
• Date of commencement of project: January 2005
• Date of completion of project: August 2006
• Location of site: Bergschenhoek, Netherlands
• Cost of Construction: 100,000 Euros

The interiors and exterior spaces of the house are connected by visual and functional elements into a singular unit.

The Building

The project required an extension to an existing and stylish Amsterdam school housing block located in a typical Dutch landscape -- at the edge of a canal atop a dike.

Due to their location, the houses are distanced from their surroundings with the village on one side and the natural landscape on the other.

The character of the existing house, with its small windows, further reinforced this distancing.

View from within the living space.

The extension is in contrast to the character of the existing house and is located primarily to its rear and partly on one side.

A newer living space is introduced and connected to the existing area by two glass bridges, which frame its view.

View of the newer extension as well as the existing building.

A minimal frame of iroko wood allows a subtle screen between the interiors and the natural landscape, allowing the two to mingle freely in the living area.

A double sided fireplace marks the transition from inside the house onto a large veranda outside.

Credits

• Text: Courtesy of the architect
• Photographs: www.visuelezaken.nl, Courtesy of the architect
• Compiled and edited by Varun M Ajani