Dedemsvaartweg, The Hague • 1994 - 1996
5 patio dwellings as part of a Housing Festival
Client: Eurowoningen, Rotterdam

The patio houses have been realized within an urban plan for the ‘200,000^th House Festival' of 1994. The plan should form a sample sheet of everything that is possible in present-day residential styles. A great many architects have made contributions to this manifestation in terms of a specific design in various construction forms. No effort has been made to seek architectonic conformity between the sections of the plan; a typological diversity was the main aim here. The DKV plan lies in a series of three plots with patio houses. The plot withfive patio houses is situated between a narrow residential street and a green strip. In order to gain the utmost benefit from this position, DKV chose a set-up in which all the houses have an entrance with a parking place on the street side and a direct relationship with the green strip on the other side.
The dwelling type is a linearly organized patio house, where the difference between interior and exterior space is becoming vague and the patio is placed as an exterior room between the living area and a working space or studio. From the living area, the studio can only be accessed via the patio. For this reason, the studio has been assigned its own entrance from the green strip so that any visitors do not need to pass through the house.
Linked to the patio on the first floor, there is a spacious roof terrace that allows enjoyment of the sun and a good view. Six-metre frosted-glass screens have been installed between the patios to guarantee privacy.
The materialization of the houses is a combination of brickwork, stuccowork, tiling, and clear-varnished Oregon pine.