Villa Anchored In Forest Landscape / Derksen|Windt Architecten

Architects: Derksen|Windt Architecten
Area: 405 m²
Year: 2024
Photography: Jordi Huisman
Lead Architects: David Windt, Jeroen Derksen
Location: Vogelenzang
Country: The Netherlands

Villa Anchored in Forest Landscape by Derksen|Windt Architecten is a contemporary private residence set within a forest near Vogelenzang, The Netherlands. The 405-square-meter house responds to a site characterized by a naturally open area enclosed by mature woodland, while establishing two principal visual orientations. One faces the open portion of the plot, while the other looks through the trees toward the surrounding bulb fields. Rather than adopting the traditional building volume required by the site’s zoning plan, the architects developed a partially sunken house intended to become more closely integrated with its setting. The private bedroom level sits below, while the living areas occupy the upper floor and open to the landscape. The architects designed the house around the clients’ wish for a place where family and friends could gather indoors and outdoors. This led to a spatial concept described by the architects as a “covered outside fire pit,” with a protective roof combined with vertical walls, fireplaces, and openings to maintain a continuous relationship with the exterior. A central entrance, steel staircase, and skylight organize the plan, while two copper fireplaces establish a key axis through the house. Energy-conscious measures and nature-inclusive provisions further support its relationship with the site.

Villa anchored in forest landscape / derksen|windt architecten

Villa Anchored in Forest Landscape establishes its character through a deliberate tension between enclosure and openness. Set within a mature forest near Vogelenzang, the house does not treat the woodland simply as a backdrop. Instead, the architecture creates a succession of carefully positioned views in which trees appear between vertical walls and openings, producing changing perceptions of the landscape and daylight throughout the day.

The distinctive character of the site was central to the architects’ response. The plot contains a naturally open area surrounded by mature forest, creating an unusual combination of openness and enclosure. The existing zoning plan called for a traditional building volume, but Derksen|Windt Architecten considered that approach insufficiently responsive to the site’s environmental qualities. Their alternative places the house lower in the landscape, allowing the building to relate more closely to the terrain and preserving the dominant presence of the surrounding vegetation.

The house is organized around two principal views. One looks toward the naturally open portion of the property, while the other extends through the woodland toward the bulb fields. These orientations inform the arrangement of the interior spaces, where the views of trees are repeatedly framed by vertical architectural elements. The resulting sequence avoids a single dominant panorama in favor of a series of more intimate connections between rooms and landscape.

The clients wanted the residence to accommodate gatherings with family and friends in both indoor and outdoor settings. The architects translated this requirement into the central concept of a “covered outdoor fire pit.” The roof acts as a protective element, while walls, fireplaces, and openings define a collection of sheltered spaces that remain visually connected to the outdoors. Each interior room is linked to an exterior space, with minimal transitions between the two.

The vertical elements are fundamental to the architectural expression. Walls and fireplaces establish the principal spatial divisions, while the openings between them provide views toward the forest and open landscape. Some of these openings are framed, while others are left more direct, allowing the relationship between interior and exterior to vary from one space to another.

The entrance forms the organizational center of the house. An organically designed steel staircase rises beneath a skylight, bringing daylight into the heart of the plan. Two copper fireplaces extend through the house on either side of this central point, establishing what the architects describe as the location where the “twist” takes place. From this core, walls, passageways, tiles and cabinets are aligned according to a consistent dimensional system. This system extends beyond the interior. The openings in the facades, room dimensions, entrance and staircase, terraces, vertical walls and columns were all developed in relation to one another. According to the architects, this consistency is intended to be felt and experienced rather than simply observed. Achieving the required proportions and clarity between the horizontal and vertical elements was a complex part of the design process.

The partially sunken arrangement also establishes a clear division between the levels of the house. The more private bedroom floor is positioned downstairs, sheltered within the landscape, while the living areas are located above and oriented toward the surroundings. This arrangement allows the different parts of the residence to respond to contrasting requirements for privacy, gathering, and connection with the site.

Environmental considerations are incorporated into both the building and its placement. The house uses overhangs, a more closed northern facade, and high-quality insulation to reduce the amount of energy required. The architects identify the positioning of the building on the shape of the site as another significant environmental benefit, since this approach allowed existing greenery to be preserved. Nature-inclusive provisions for birds and insects further extend the project’s relationship with its setting. Rather than clearing the wooded character of the plot to accommodate the residence, the design works within the existing landscape. The resulting architecture is defined by a controlled arrangement of vertical and horizontal elements, while the forest remains a constant presence through the carefully positioned openings and views.