Soberrijk II

A large family, with the desire for a small footprint. The site is wild, lush with untamed greenery. Amid that wilderness, a study in compactness unfolds. Fewer square metres, but better ones. Spaces deeply intertwined with the surrounding landscape, with the arc of the sun and the rhythm of the seasons. Nature is not just something to look at. It becomes part of everyday life.

A few square metres can go a long way when shared. We think in terms of layered use. About how three children sleep, play and study in relation to one another. How a single practice room relates to everyday living. In a compact plan, circulation for its own sake loses meaning.

Two modular timber-frame units are all it takes. Built in the workshop and placed on site, staggered, with space between. That in-between becomes an outdoor-climate zone. Heavily glazed, but unheated and uninsulated. This zone belongs to the rooms around it: it is a hallway and a store, a kitchen and a playroom. Even on rainy days, it can host a children’s party. The same principle applies to two transverse zones: circulation strips that double as usable space.

Space within smallness. Flexibility within limits. A frugal way of living, rich in experience, shaped as much by what is built as by what is not.

Every insulated metre matters. Compact, but never cramped. Two staggered modules, with space in between.

This project is built using Mobble: modular, ecological prefab dwellings.