Villa 4.0

Hilversum, Netherlands

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Block A Noordstrook

Villa 4.0

Hilversum, Netherlands

Firm

Dick van Gameren

Type

Residential › Private House

YEAR

2011

In the leafy Gooi region around Hilversum they found an attractive plot of land containing a simple bungalow dating from 1967 on a hexagonal ground plan. This became the stepping-off point for a major building project involving many specialists and with sustainability taken up in the plans wherever possible. So instead of demolishing the bungalow - which had already been radically altered in 1972 and 200l - it was to be recast. The reuse principle is also in evidence in the garden design; trees and bushes have been replanted to fulfil a new duty in the garden and felled trees are stored away as firewood for the high efficiency wood burning stove in the kitchen. Heat pump, solar boiler and LED lighting are among the energy-efficient solutions deployed for handling all the big energy consumers, from heating, cooling and hot water to electricity. Some are feats of technology, others are proven yet largely forgotten solutions such as a clothes horse for drying clothes or a bicycle as the principal means of transport.DesignAlthough the many modifications and additions had made the house bigger, it had also become increasingly inward-looking. The expanding wings were steadily enclosing the heart of the house with the hall and living quarters, and direct contact between the house and the magnificent surroundings was largely lost. The original detailing and material form were consistently adhered to during all previous interventions but the result was now thoroughly outmoded and of a poor technical quality.The house has now been given its fourth look. Dick van Gameren Architecten was commissioned for the design, the principle guiding this most recent intervention being to create a house that is much more sustainable and able to reinstate the lost relationship between it and the landscape.Sustainability – Dick van Gameren Architecten kept as close as possible to preserving the existing house, which gave the first step towards a sustainable end-result. Taking the existing structure as the basis, the outer walls and roofs were modernized by adding insulation and replacing all windows and larger areas of glazing. The walls in the central section of the house were removed to create a new living hall looking out onto the surroundings on four sides. In addition, the physical bond between house and landscape has been consolidated by an all-glass pavilion attached to the living hall that reaches out to the brook flowing past the house.