1990-1993

text and image by / testo e immagini di Benthem Crouwel

 
© Benthem Crouwel Architect - WWW.BENTHEMCROUWEL.NL

This house is an amplification of the one Jan Rietveld built in 1951. Set snugly in its green setting, it functioned as a holiday house. The new-build portion is set slightly back with regard to the original house.  A discrete volume of glass and steel, it might seem the polar opposite of the original dwelling with its white-brick facades, gently undulating roof and outdoor stair to the terrace.


© Benthem Crouwel Architect - WWW.BENTHEMCROUWEL.NL


© Benthem Crouwel Architect - WWW.BENTHEMCROUWEL.NL

Yet it does accord with this house. The two parts become one in the plan, and the modular system informing the older part reappears in the new portion at double the size. The darker brick of the old north-west facade gets a reprise in the new two-metre-long brick wall. Glass facades further intensify the rapport with the green surroundings. Both interior and exterior of the new feature are neutral; colour comes care of the furniture and the cycle of the seasons.

Benthem Crouwel Architect [www.benthemcrouwel.nl]