For us, the sensual perception of architecture is one of the most important design principles; as we all know, the body inhabits space. We learned that a perfect space stands this physical experience in the way. When a space breathes only perfection, you feel shut out. Imperfection and wastages makes a building appreciated.

With a very careful harmonisation of space on the human scale and using human materials, the architect can create an optimal architecture which addresses the different senses and the physical experience of space.

.

The location, in fact, the back yard of the former vicarage, asks for a careful fitting in of the location of the house. The most important elements in this situation are formed by the municipal monument of the vicarage, the present trees and the sloping framing of the road situated by the Julianalaan in Laag-Keppel, the Netherlands.

The new volume is placed in consideration with the existing housing of the Julianalaan, as a result of which it comes to stand at on sufficient distance from the old vicarage; the sober material used for the new building remains also hierarchically subordinate to the vicarage. The strict, stretched volume with traditional roof, the material (mainly wood), the colour (brown shade of black) and the presence of large trees around the building will be to an important degree determinative for the character of the building.

The basement (sous-terrain) has partly been arranged as a storage space and as a guest room. The first floor contains the different living spaces, where a strict zoning has been carried out. The bathroom, entry, toilet, staircase, kitchen and scullery have been consequently situated on the North side. The four living and working spaces lie on the sunny side of the house. This floor can be reached from the entry of the basement, as well as by the front door on the street side (crossing a ten-meter-long bridge) and from the garden by the wooden veranda, which is situated along the whole south elevation.

‘This house in Laag-Keppel is an example of a new movement in architecture that seeks a 'third way' between retro-architecture and modernism. The contemporary design responds to the emotional need for an archetypal 'home' without falling into the popular clichés of 1930s-style architecture. As modest as the wooden house may appear, the underlying idea is equally ambitious.’ - Egbert Koster editor

w/ daad architecten