LMNL office tops brick clad house with fragmented thatched roof in the netherlands

Veldhuis by LMNL office

In Veldhuis, LMNL office reinvents elements of the typical Dutch barn typology such as the thatched roof and brick walls to fit the needs of its residents. Located on a historical road in Brabant, The Netherlands, the family house takes the form of an archetypal Dutch barn, of which the height and width is lessened at the rear, allowing three stories in the front part of the house and one in the rear. The residence is topped with a thatched roof that has been cut and shifted outwards, helping to break its volume into small, more legible fragments.

‘The starting points for the design of the Veldhuis are location and the wishes of the client,’ explains LMNL office. ‘Located on a historical road leading to the center of the village that is lined by old farmhouses from the 1800/1900’s, the house seeks to be a contextually relevant modern home with historical references.’

all images © LMNL office and Loes van Duijvendijk

FAMILY HOUSE REINVENTS THE typical Dutch barn typology

The Dutch studio developed Veldhuis with a future proof design where it is possible to live solely on the ground floor in retirement, to split the house to make a separate flat, or even to separate the combined plots and develop another house on the adjacent land in the future. Reinventing the typical Dutch barn, LMNL office created a three story zone at the front of the house, which includes the bedrooms, study and attic, and a one story zone in the rear that includes the living and dining areas. Meanwhile, the center of the building encloses the kitchen, wet room and garage.

The complex structure of the house was prefabricated in Germany using sustainable CLT (cross laminated timber) and erected on site in just 12 days. The structure is Lined with wood fibre insulation and roofed with local Dutch thatch, which will allow it to remain damp open, promoting a healthy indoor climate year round. ‘This is the first build-up of its kind in the world,’ notes the studio. A thick interior earth brick wall, running down the spine of the house serves as a radiant heating/cooling element, as well as a means to control the humidity levels indoors. The exterior bricks, the smallest IJsselsteen format, are made of local clay at a nearby brickmaker, and accented with a specially developed green/blue glaze by Makkum. The property’s surrounding garden, formerly a grass field, is designed around 12 large mature trees and includes beds of perennial plants, a lawn, small water pond, an orchard and a flower meadow.