Paul de Ruiter Architects designed Villa Deys for a retired couple who wanted a practical home in which they could live unassisted until well into old age. They also wanted it to integrate itself into the surrounding landscape.
In harmony with the landscape
The house backs onto the UtrechtseHeuvelrug (Utrecht Hill Ridge), a long and ancient ridge of low hills that runs the length of the region, while its southern facade overlooks the floodplains of the Rhine. This opportune position gives the house’s sedum roof the appearance of a fifth facade when viewed from vantage points on the hills. The green roof and the vegetation-clad eastern and western facades also help to give the impression that the three volumes that make up the house somehow emerged from the landscape. The volumes themselves are offset in relation to one another, which further embeds the composition in the terrace-like structure of the 10-metre high hill that overlooks it.
Three dedicated volumes
The house is composed of three elevated, linear volumes whose projection from and communion with the landscape is accentuated by the above-mentioned vegetation-clad walls and roof. Offsetting the volumes has yielded the largest possible outer wall surface so that daylight admission is maximized, as are the views of the surrounding landscape. At the heart of the ensemble is the swimming pool, around which the adjoining living quarters boast virtually seamless transitions from one functional space to the next.
State-of-the-art, sustainable heating system
The home boasts a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient heating system, which is linked to the pool’s system and to a water pump, thereby allowing heat from the pool to be recycled for heating the rest of the house, creating an energy-saving loop. This, in combination with our choice of materials and construction methods, has resulted in a villa of outstanding sustainable measure.
