Splijten

The house is solid. It’s wide too, but it makes up for that in its low profile. We’re not starting from scratch, so we select three key places where we reclaim some height.
One: a void is carved out at the heart of the house. The void opens onto a mezzanine that, like a periscope, brings daylight from the front façade all the way into the centre.
Two: a sunken sitting area creates a sense of height without altering the ceiling.
Three: a shallow rear extension, spanning the full width, reaches a little higher.

The house is clever, but it can be cleverer. The entrance is relocated. No more narrow hallway, but a robust room. An entrance that can stand up to real life. A bench and a cupboard. A skateboard and muddy shoes.
Past the double doors lie the living spaces: open, but clearly zoned. The benefit of seams and thresholds; different places carry different moods.
Upstairs, only minimal interventions and careful finishes. Except for the void: a gap framed in joinery, offering unexpected glimpses.
Beneath the roof ridge: children’s rooms arranged around an open play space.

The house used to stay cool in summer. Now, with generous glazing to the south, we need to be more careful.
The windows are split across two levels: one to walk through, one to look through. Each level is given a canopy in red timber. The depth of the canopy is tailored to the summer sun: when it’s high, the glazing sits fully in shadow.
The red creeps upward across the rear façade: clad in corrugated metal, somewhere between a Portuguese holiday home and a Swedish cabin.