Villa Berkel

At a glance

Project by: Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter
Location: Veenendaal, Netherlands

Preview image

Villa Berkel (Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter)

© Pieter Kers

Project images

	Exterior © Pieter Kers View project image
	Interior © Pieter Kers View project image
	Bathroom © Pieter Kers View project image
	Bathtub in terrace © Pieter Kers View project image

Architect's statement

Villa Berkel, in Veenendaal, was built on a site formerly occupied by a bungalow built in the nineteen seventies. The family wanted to remodel the bungalow, but decided on the advice of Paul de Ruiter's architectural bureau to demolish the bungalow and make room for a completely new design.

Building plot

The woods around the villa are dark, which means it is important to ensure that as much light can enter as possible. However, the more glass is used in a building, the more difficult it is to maintain the dividing line between inside and outside – between private and public.

The building plot is therefore divided into three long strips at right angles to the road. The bottom and southernmost strip is reserved for the garden, the middle strip contains the villa itself and the most northerly strip provides access to the house: this is where the drive, parking space and the entrance are located. This layout of the site means that those parts of the house that the residents prefer to keep private are out of sight.

Living zones

The layout of the site is repeated in the floor plan of the house. This is also divided into three strips over the entire 30-metre length of the villa. To ensure both openness and liveability, the floor plan is also split. The eastern section, on the street side, contains the more public functions: the entrance, study, kitchen and sitting room; while the western section, furthest from the street, is reserved for the more intimate activities: a corridor that acts as TV lounge, the bedrooms and the bathroom. This means the character of the functions gradually becomes more intimate. Each function has its own zone within the house, which can be cut off by means of translucent sliding walls.

Living in the garden

To create openness and lightness and allow the residents to continue feeling that they are out of doors, the house is entirely focused on the secluded garden to the south. Every room in the villa looks directly out on to the garden, because three of the four façades are made entirely of glass.

The spacious wooden terrace forms a room outdoors, partly covered by a wooden awning supported on steel brackets that taper upwards. This gives it the appearance of floating above the ground. Ponds have been laid on both sides of the villa, so that here, too, the house appears to be raised above ground level, emphasising the lightness of the building.