Contemporary extension to a house as an indispensable connection between the inside and outside. | derksen windt architecten

For the extension of this house in the famous Dutch flowerbulb area, derksen|windt architecten made a design based on the experience of the transition from the inside to the outside. The old house (the inside) and the garden with the flowerbulb fields behind it (the outside) are beautifully connected by this distinctive and sharply detailed extension.

There are numerous somewhat monumental houses in the flowerbulb area which were once connected to bulb sheds and the bulb fields, which were behind the sheds. Due to modern floriculture, the old barns are no longer needed and what is ‘left behind’ are nice houses with large gardens. The clients asked the architects to design an extension at the back of the house with a view of the outside space. The architects took this wish as a starting point for the design and implemented this in every aspect of the design, as deep as (positively) possible.

Everything in this design is about the experience of the clients and their connection with the outside. When entering the dwelling in the existing house and walking into the extension, with every step one takes, different views to the garden will continuously present itself. The placement of openings and walls is carefully composed, with everything being designed according to proportions to one another. For example, walls are made slightly thicker than constructively needed to achieve the desired harmony. Partly based on the ideas of inspiring twentieth century architect-theorist Dom Hans van der Laan.

The distinctive overhanging roof plays an important role in the direction of the sight and in the subtle transition from the inside to the outside. It is as if there is no real boundary. It’s a smooth flow from being inside the old house to being on the outside terrace.

The connections and the details have been designed and elaborated with great care and effort, which is very important for the sophistication of the design. The roof is constructed with prefabricated laminated timber parts (CLT) with insulation and a green roof on top. This build up creates an elegant minimal edge of the roof and made it possible to connect the beautiful, transparent lacquered oak window frames almost directly to the ceiling. The horizontal connections of the frames to other building parts are examples of the effort in detailing as well. There are corners in which the window seemingly effortless turns around a wooden vertical, where there are also corners in which the architects carefully placed a part of the wall to achieve the correct orientation and composition.

© photographs Stijnstijl Fotografie and derksen|windt architecten