At the appealing location next to the Spaarne in Haarlem derksen|windt architecten designed a contemporary yet rural villa. The design is based on the old farms situated along the road where the villa is built on. The typology ‘old Dutch farm’, with its typical brick base and large roof, is translated into something contemporary by placing a beautiful, wooden, angled roof over the brick base. The villa was designed to be an energy-neutral home and has shown to perform.

The villa is a design in which the joint wishes of the client and the architects have been realized. It is a home in which all areas have natural light and where the architects played with the perception of daylight. It is also a home that commissions the large painting prominently and, above all, it is a house that really fits in and on this beautiful location and provides the opportunity to enjoy the surroundings.

The design consists of a ground floor built of dark red brick in which multiple angled corners and different surfaces are positioned to create an exciting image and a fine experience at eye level. On this base lies the angled wooden roof which extends on all sides over the brick base, with overhangs which differ in both distance to the substructure as well as in height to the surface level. When the shade appears under the eaves, it provides an exciting and interesting meeting between the roof and the base. The roofing with western red cedar shingles seems made for this cover and creates a natural look.

The angles in the roof differ in all directions, and partly for this reason the structure is made up entirely of triangles. The roof is ultimately constructed literally in this way, consisting of solid laminated, all unique, wood surfaces that are completely drawn in 3D. On the basis of the data from the 3D program, the constructive calculation was made. This innovative solution ensures that the roof can be self-supporting and make the first floor be free to plan. There are no trusses or heavy load-bearing walls required and the panels of the roof carry the forces within it self. This constructive solution allows the beautiful corners and connections of the roof to be experience from the interior. When entering one can experience a mystical, almost cathedral-like feeling seeing the triangular faces at 8 meters’ height come together.

The architects and the client pursued a durable and sustainable design. In both the materials and the active energy systems investments were made in both research, time and money. The whole house is equipped with triple glazing and special thermally interrupted aluminium frames. For the isolation an insulation film with a very high Rc value and minimum thickness is chosen. This makes it possible for the roof, with a total thickness of 300 mm, to remain light and in great proportion to the brick base. The villa is heated with a pellet stove combined with minimal installations connected to a few solar panels on the barn roof. The shingles on the roof are not treated, age naturally and can last for years. The villa is now in use for a while now and is performing extremely well.