Villa Vught
Villa Vught is part of a zone of generic single-family homes. The house is situated on a spacious plot, and opportunities seem abundant to give a unique interpretation to the client’s expansion wishes. However, the desire to create a place for both living and working, embedded in a landscape setting, seems an impossible task, because how to live scenically in a Vinex neighborhood?
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Location
Vught, NLYear
2010 -
Private
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Design lead
Eric Frijters
Olv KlijnProject Lead
Marie RannouTeam members
Nuria Ripoll
Iris Wijn
Bob L’Herminez
Greta Mozzachiodi
Mikkel Horsbol Lauridsen
Katerina Dunickova
Ida Floche Moller
The Vinex landscape does not lend itself well to architectural and landscape additions or modifications, for it is condemned to the strict and stringent image quality regulations. The generous program of Villa Vught is ambitious and the challenge is precisely to give shape to that apparent contradiction of a luxurious and comfortable villa, within the contours of a rowhouse district. The leitmotif of the design is the experiment in space perception of the total living area, where a number of elements are deemed necessary: a large, stone fireplace around which several people can sit comfortably on long, cold winter nights; a library for seclusion, to (re)find peace, to study, to read; a swimming pool, for relaxation as well as for daily exercise; high floor spaces, allowing the sun to penetrate deep into the house; special staircases that cut through the house revealing the beautiful wooden ceiling; several outdoor terraces that make you (re)long for vacations in Tuscany.
The most limiting factor in incorporating the above elements in Villa Vught is the local building regulations, which have formulated strict requirements with regard to the master plan, the architecture and the building envelope. By cleverly dealing with these restrictions and by thinking innovatively about the spatial qualities of the plot, apparent impossibilities can be transformed into adequate design solutions, resulting in a beautiful villa for living and working. A villa where security, relaxation, reception of friends and the combination of living/working is central, a house that in its final appearance enables a new way of living.
