Architecture News Plus (ANP) – Architecture and Design Magazine

House Dijk - Make room!

This is a project by JagerJanssen architects BNA and it is located at Blauwestad, Groningen, Netherlands. There are three images for House Dijk - Make room!.

: © Rob 't Hart

Project images

Designer's statement

House Dijk is the third private dwelling by JagerJanssen architects. It is built in Blauwestad, Groningen, in the far north of the Netherlands.

The nature of the commission

Private commissioners Michel and Karin had laid their hands on a magnificent plot in the brand new water-city Blauwestad. In the local landscape, bleak winds have free play, and the clouds pile up in primeval Dutch fashion. The heart of Blauwestad is a newly dug lake measuring 8 sq km. 1500 dwellings are planned bordering this lake, divided over several sub-areas. De Zwarte Hond architects realised a promising and comprehensive plan for the architectural development.

The concerned plot is located in the sub-area 'Het Riet'. A bowel-shaped constellation of islands. The layout of the islands is simple: Plots facing the water adjacent to a central road. The islands are connected by means of bridges.

After their earlier plans were rejected by the Blauwestad design team, the family came in contact with JagerJanssen. We were awarded the commission to realise a dwelling on this magnificent site.

Client Brief

In two meetings the Dijk family and JagerJanssen established a list of requirements and desires. The principal parameter was that the dwelling should not only be large, but should also feel spacious. Three floors were required: one for parking cars and motorbikes, a ground floor with a kitchen and living area – bathing in natural light – with lots of space possessing a certain grandeur, and another level with 4 bedrooms.

The outcome

The building volume consists of a dwelling covered by a continuous skin, made of anthracite coloured corrugated sheets. The main volume is determined by this skin. Walls and roof become one, expressing this skin as the primary thematic element. The inside of the skin is 'soft', covered with pebble-plex - a light and bright wood. From the interior, the spatial experience is optimised by the viewing axes over the Groningen landscape. By lifting the entire volume and placing it on the slightly contracted souterrain (ground floor), a sense of hovering is created.

The contractor for this project was Marcel van der Sluis, a young and ambitious architect-contractor, unafraid of unconventional designs, ready to embrace challenges. The difficulty with this design was the souterrain, which had to remain above ground-water level. This restriction, together with maximum building height dictated by the quality plan, determined the division and position of the three floors. The souterrain is approximately 1.5m below ground level, the first floor 1m above, like a belle-etage (upper storey).

The house is both large as spacious. Two longitudinal viewing axes act as guides along the insides of the side-façades. These axes are obvious in the façades when approaching from the street. The axes are utilised in several ways in the organisation of the dwelling: The axis starting at the entrance facilitates vertical sight and transport. The adjacent axis goes from outside to the inside leading to the porch.

The kitchen is positioned in the centre of the ground floor and defines an axis perpendicular to the house. From here the parents can keep an eye on their children playing in the garden. By stepping left or right, one ends up on either of the axes.