Not a box in an empty field

Bound only by the dike and the town sites to the distant north and south, this new build home draws the landscape through its ground floor interior, through the kitchen -the heart of the home- to the vistas on either side. The first floor also sits on level with the crest of the adjacent dike, providing a strong visual connection to this defining landscape feature.

These physical strategies serve to position the home amidst this vastness, anchoring it in the landscape by articulating connection to it. Full, floor-height window banks and sliding doors as well as a single-fired tile flooring through this ground floor opening, from the southern terrace, through the house, to the northern terrace, reinforce the interior-exterior connection.

The living program is spread over five different floor levels, drawn together with a ribbon-like staircase that weaves from one level to the next. The open kitchen descends half a storey to a partial-basement, where hobby space and music room are located. The living room is just a half-story higher than the kitchen, which preserves the interaction between the two spaces, whilst facilitating the view over the dike to the estates across the water. All this, from the comfort of the living room couch. From the living room you move to the elevated split level floor on which the study, master bedroom, children’s rooms and bathroom are located. At the top of the staircase, two bedrooms and another bathroom are nestled comfortably in the gable roof.

At first glance, it appears to be a traditional dike house, but on closer inspection, it is a modern revision of the rural vernacular with dynamic voids, views, and split levels as well as a definitive connection to landscape.