House on a dike
Uitdam is a small, picturesque village at the banks of the IJsselmeer. The clients found a small house to be demolished, next to the church and the dyke, just big enough for a new dwelling for two. Shape, materials, dimensions and the slope of the roof were almost fixed from the beginning for the spatial rules in the area are very strict. As the inhabitants of the region, the municipality and the tourists wish to protect the fragile, historically grown cultural landscape with its present consistency and small-scale beauty. The new house fits almost unnoticeably into its existing neighbourhood; the dark colour of the façade, the traditional roof tiles and the sparkling white of both the edges of the roof and the window frames underline the familiarity with the traditional architecture of the area.
By using solid timber panels as basic material for walls and floors, the house gets a special and contemporary atmosphere. The clients chose the most refined smooth surface that the manufacturer of the panels could deliver. Subsequently the panels were painted using a transparent white varnish, resulting in a slightly shiny timber surface. The panels become both rather abstract and still full of character due to the natural pattern of the timber that is kept visible.
The monumental tree in the backyard of the house played an important role for the design. The bedroom at the rear of the ground floor doesn’t follow the orthogonal structure of the rest of the plan to give space to the roots of the tree. At the same time the wide angle of the space makes sure that the terrace between dyke and house feels spacious and informal yet protected. From the first floor one overlooks both the pretty landscape and the water of the Ijsselmeer.
