Architect: Architectenbureau K2, Amsterdam Location: North Holland, The Netherlands Design Team: Jan-Richard Kikkert, Judith Korpershoek with: Christine Yadlowsky, Christiane Cottin, Fiona Storry (Artwork) Contractor: Van Westen en Bakker Area: 220 sqm Project Year: 1998-2001 Photographs: Roos Aldershoff
House ‘VV’ provides living space for a couple who were already living in the small waterland wilderness on the fringe of Amsterdam Agglomeration. As the site is subject to occasional flooding, the house is set upon an island-like wooden deck, leaving nature almost untouched. While facing the river with an austere waterfront façade, the house has a more private, sunny side inland. Although the entire house is clad in wood, meant to age gracefully and blend into the surroundings, each façade plays a different game with light, landscape and scale in relation to the plan. In the north façade on the water, wooden screens on the balcony of the first floor give a scale and nuance that fit into the linear nature of the riverside landscape. The differing wishes of the commissioners led to innovations, such as a bathroom which can be introverted and closed off but can be effortlessly transformed into an extension of the façade wide balcony with a view over the water. All spaces are interconnected in House ‘VV’. Carefully placed objects define the different living areas, maintaining the transparent character of the house without revealing its charm straightaway. Because each space has an individual orientation and different height,