Natural materials converge in the beautiful, tailor-made Villa H (Villa Hupkes) tucked into Rotterdam’s dune landscape. Architecture firm BERG + KLEIN designed this modern home for a client who wanted a warm and minimalist dwelling that embraced the landscape. Fronted with floor-to-ceiling glass, Villa H opens up to the garden and maintains a relatively low environmental footprint thanks to its solar panels, green roof, and air-driven heat pump.
Built primarily of concrete, stained Western Red Cedar, and natural stone, Villa H features a muted materials palette that helps blend the structure into the surroundings. The low-lying building is spread across three levels: the basement level with a garage, the main living spaces on the ground floor, and the accessible landscaped roof. The ground-floor living area features an open-plan living room, kitchen, and dining area on one end and the bedroom and study on the opposite. A staircase between two concrete walls is located at the center of the home.
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The ground floor opens out via sliding glass doors to a terrace that doubles as an outdoor living space. These sliding glass openings and other windows promote natural ventilation. Timber brise-soleils slide along a track in front of the glazed sections to deflect sunlight, reducing solar heat gain while providing privacy. The inhabitat.com/tag/cantilever/cantilevered roof also helps provide shade. Electricity is partially provided through rooftop solar cells.
Via ArchDaily
Images © Christian Richters
