V8 Architects

The planning for building a house began with browsing through various catalogues for standard houses: easy, practical, finished quickly, and a dime a dozen. Recognising that a person might build just one house in a lifetime, we decided to go for the design adventure. We traded in the pret à porter plans for haute couture, for customisation where individuality, spaciousness and environment attain their full potential.

Home is customisation In addition to the land-use plan, the Bergen op Zoom local council has drawn up an image directive document for eight parcels on the Fort de Roverweg in Halsteren. The rules in the document focus on very traditional building forms and material usage, which many catalogue contractors and local builders offer as a construction ready packet. Over a year ago our clients also spoke to such parties, but they were unable to agree on a house that felt like their home. Following this delay, they decided on another way and asked us to design a special villa for them. And what’s more, they included the interior and garden in the design as well. The rustic and traditional inspired us to a chic reinterpretation of spacious manor houses, thatched roofs and beautiful artisanal joinery work: haute couture.

The local contractor Steep rooflines, the right orientation and unique detailing: the villa had to be better than the catalogue houses, but not more expensive. After a traditional tendering procedure, we selected a contractor’s son who was to take over the company from his father that year; he expressed interest in this unusual job. Father and son dove in, engaged their network of suppliers, with the result being an even better villa. The design called for a traditional, knowledgeable, committed builder, and got one.

Permanent holiday The unusually lovely location with a spacious back garden on the southwest and a view over the countryside makes daily life a permanent holiday. The sides of the house stretch out into the garden, embracing the largest terrace. The entire width of the house is connected to the garden, so living in the open every minute of the day evokes a holiday feeling.