The Villa in the Dutch countryside near Vught gives a contemporary twist to the local farmstead typology. Traditionally, the Dutch ‘hoeve’ is an ensemble of farmhouses and living quarters loosely clustered around a courtyard.
Project Name: Villa Vught
Architect Name: Mecanoo
The central open space is protected, yet open to the surrounding landscape. The Villa’s functions are distributed within three distinct volumes, shaped to resemble the vernacular of a small village.”
“Wood is used for both the structure and interior finish. The three buildings have a cross-laminated timber structure and European silver fir interior surfaces, a type of wood that has an exceptionally smooth and uniform texture.
Compared to other solid construction methods, relatively little energy is needed for the production and processing of cross-laminated timber. It contributes to sustainable CO2 storage as well. The villa has an Energy Performance Coefficient (EPC) of 0.26 and is heated and cooled with electric heat pumps.
Mecanoo
Mecanoo is led by founding partner and creative director Francine Houben. Based in the city of Delft, the Netherlands, Mecanoo’s ‘campus’ has expanded to include project offices in New York City, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The practice focuses on complex, multifunctional buildings and integrated urban developments which combine architecture, urban planning, landscaping, and interior design.
Mecanoo’s work covers all sectors and scales including educational and research buildings, libraries, theatres, museums, as well as offices, hotels, leisure, residential, mixed-use, regeneration, landscape, master-planning and mobility. Mecanoo sees this diversity as a major asset in developing contextually responsive and adaptive multifunctional buildings.
Each project individually responds to a methodical philosophy of People, Place, and Purpose: to the client’s requirements and the users’ needs; the physical and historical context; and the current and predicted potential of a building’s function.
Within this philosophy, sustainability is an inherent aspect of our design approach, feeding into an ambition to create new identity in a world of globalization; resulting in inspiring and authentic places, socially relevant for people and communities.
