Villa K / ARCHITECTENCSK

Architects: ARCHITECTENCSK
Area: 653 m²
Year: 2012
Photography: Fedde de Weert
Lead Architects: Sjoerd Kuindersma
City: Bergen
Country: The Netherlands

Villa K, a modern residence designed by ARCHITECTENCSK in Bergen, The Netherlands, harmoniously integrates with its natural oak forest surroundings. Completed in 2012, this luxurious villa preserves the historic beach ridges of North Holland, emphasizing sustainability and aesthetic cohesion with nature.

The villa, situated on old dunes and surrounded by a natural oak forest, aimed to create a luxurious residence that complements nature. Bergen’s historic beach ridges, formed around six thousand years ago, were preserved in the design of Villa K by ARCHITECTENCSK. Unlike typical building practices that remove these ridges for a flat surface, Villa K incorporates them centrally.

Spanning 830 square meters, the villa features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, an office with a separate entrance, and a garage for three cars. Initially, the client purchased a plot measuring 35 by 100 meters, later acquiring an adjacent lot to extend the design. The villa’s length highlights this expansion, creating natural separations between living areas.

On the ground level, Villa K includes three bedrooms with separate bathrooms, an office with a separate entrance, a service block, a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room with two fireplaces. The basement houses a technical room, a garage, a multipurpose room (archive, cinema, etc.), and a guest area.

The nearly 50 meters long and 19 meters wide villa appears to float above two beach ridges, creating various spaces that anchor it to the environment. The house seems to float above the ridges at both ends, enhanced by the villa’s differing heights and the undulating concrete roof that contrasts with the ridges. The villa’s height of 4.5 meters on the forest side allows ample light into the living room and kitchen.

The exterior features glass and wood, with vertical oak profiles on the wooden walls and long facades of almost entirely glass. The glass panels, with tree prints on concrete-backed sections, reference the surrounding oak forest. These panels, made of extra clear float glass, have a lower iron dioxide content for brighter color and higher light transmission, necessary for better energy performance. The curved and domed glass panels weigh over 2200 pounds each.

For energy efficiency, a concrete base structure was used, providing sufficient mass and allowing for overhangs. The villa is energy-neutral, using a heat pump for heating and cooling. A moss-sedum roof, mandated by the municipality for on-site rainwater discharge, offers higher insulation, better sound absorption, particulate matter absorption, and longer roofing life.