During an excursion through Blaricum, an exceptional residence with a unique allure nestled itself in the memory of Onix Architects. This is a stately building with two heads that form the two end walls oriented to the street. The intermediate section is set back a little. On the garden side, in contrast, the building has a single alignment. A characteristic feature of this building is the low line of the gutter. Due to the fact that the roof does not protrude, the roof is not experienced as a surface on a volume but rather as a mass upon a substructure. Onix took this typical old-Blaricum style as its point of departure for the development of its ‘family of buildings’.

Main strategy Preserving the typical features, such as the end wall with its orientation to the public space and the austere finishing of the ridge and the gutter lines, one intervention is sufficient to give the ‘family’ a modern allure. By buckling the ridge and gutter lines (but keeping them parallel) idiosyncratic buildings that present themselves to their surroundings in a surprisingly diverse way can be generated. Because the relationship between the façade and the roof surfaces varies, the buildings can be assigned various aspects. In some cases, this stimulates the relocation of the dividing line between the roof and the façade, where the roof is folded into the façade for example. All-round buildings are created, from small-scale buildings to the largest block of the ground/upper floor buildings. The relationship with the environment is the second major design theme. The transition between public and private space, from street to court, from court to house, and from house to terrace, loggia and/or garden has been designed differently for each individual type. In addition, a specific building-typical theme has been added for each type.

Typologies The living-working houses present themselves as a building with two countenances, with an orientation toward both Huizen and Blaricum. The starting point is the distinction between public and private. This is essential for the liveability, and has led to the separation of the entrances. The residential section is accessed from the neighbourhood, while an optional element is the access to the working section via bridges on the Huizen side. Within the field of tension between openness and privacy, the possibility of flexible partitioning has enabled life-long use of the house. The working section within the walls of the house can grow or shrink depending on the circumstances in which residents find themselves. Even a transformation into sheltered accommodation is one of the options.

The most important theme for the semi-detached houses is to create as many individual houses as possible with the retention of the coherence between the two houses. An asymmetrical structure has been chosen, so that both houses in question are assigned a countenance in the form of an end wall on two different street sides. By individualizing the openings in the façade of each house mainly on the first floor, two houses can be created each with its own allure. This is also echoed in the interior: exceptional spaces with high residential quality are generated under one roof.

The ground/upper floor houses have been combined in one building that refers to a village school in terms of scale and allure. On the street side, the building has a stately and formal appearance. On the inner court, the allure is more light-hearted. A specific feature of the houses is that they lie on a collective residential court. The ground belongs to the houses but it is also publicly accessible. This style of living offers a unique opportunity to realize a new way of community life. The private domain begins at the front door, the publicly accessible areas create opportunities to meet others and to engage in joint activities, both for the residents and the neighbours.