streetview
stairway
The construction of this house has so far lasted 10 years. In this period many of the details that give the house it’s character were conceived by the client, the architect and the craftsmen that co-operate in the project.
The two clients, estate agents and property developers, are living in the centre of the city of Groningen. When the lot with a piece of land bounded on their garden went up for sale, they decided to buy it. From the beginning they wanted to build the house themselves, taking as much time as necessary to take occurring decisions during the process.
Therefore the client and the architect Eric de Leeuw convinced the municipality to give a building permit on basis of a vague watercolor and a conceptual model of a transparent box with green leaves.
Important aspect in the design for the house is that we inhabit spaces with our bodies, a certain amount of imperfection is therefore indispensable. If every detail in a space is elaborated to the point of perfection, if the materials are slick, and the rooms are not geared to human dimensions, we don’t feel being part of that space.
The result after 10 years of working on the house is a building over five levels, in two volumes. The ground floor is a ‘carport’, initially intended to be a stable for the hors. The roof of this volume is designed as a raised garden. Thanks to this open level, the tree in the rear garden is visible from the street, which was one of the clients wishes. The house itself begins above the raised garden: a three-story glaze tower, and inside a box containing the living area’s. The space between the glass façade and inner box serves as greenhouse, gallery and stairway. The elements as cold, heath, draught and sometimes even rain, as well as the bustle of the city-street, determine the sensation of staying in this in-between space.