JK HOUSE
This private and fascinating commission is for a family house set at the heart of a 1930s building block in The Hague. The space was previously a garden centre and the green legacy is maintained with a green roof and the interaction with the garden.
Effectively, entrance to the house is away from the street. This eliminates the need for some aspects of the traditional hierarchy of spaces and structure, and enables interesting new spatial and functional possibilities. Thus the house is built around three cores (linked by corridors) and three levels including the courtyard, with a sloping roof that helps to define the different living functions. Essentially, the more private functions are allocated to the lower levels and those areas beneath the lowest roof levels.
At ground level the house is as open as possible and designed to interact with the garden. The green roof also acts as part of the garden within a local urban development plan. Following a sunlight study the house is aligned for maximum sunlight. and light pours into the living room through a large skylight.
The dominant cladding material is a corten steel vertical grating that provides a combination of privacy and security and enables the occupants to leave the Windows open even when they are not at home. The steel also provides a sense of lightness While the red/brown colour reflects the ambient colour of the brickwork of the surrounding housing.
