Villa KiMi Overveen
A copy or an adaptation of the original?
In 2015 Molenaar & Co architecten was contacted by the family Vossers-Sippens, who were fascinated by ‘house De Bruyn’ in Schiedam. This villa is a monument designed in 1930 in the Dutch Functionalist style by the firm Brinkman & Van der Vlugt for one of the managing clerks of the Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam. The family Sippens had the following wish: build us a villa with a layout, spaciousness and an esthetic based on House de Bruyn. The result is an adaptation, toned to the requirements and wishes of the clients, the zoning law and the city of Bloemendaal, while incorporating the most modern techniques regarding comfort and energy efficiency. The villa was completed in the summer of 2016.
The villa is situated in the villa quarter in Overveen, ruled by special municipal esthetic guidelines, and amongst neighboring houses built in an array of architectural styles, where the Amsterdam School is dominant. Perhaps for this reason is the house an intriguing appearance among the neighboring houses. Villa Kimi is a three storey house composed of white stucco volumes, wide canopies, various terraces, steel framed windows and a large bay window, and has at the first impression a striking resemblance to ‘House De Bruyn’. Joris Molenaar states: “The house is a conscientious re-working of the Dutch Functionalistic architectural style, down to a detailed level and incorporates contemporary materials and construction techniques. A minimal environmental impact was strived for while selecting building materials. Our adaptation of ‘House de Bruyn’ into a state of the art modern house anno 2016 has to be seen as the continuation of the inspiration given by the Typenserienhaus, presented by Walter Gropius at the Bauhaus in 1923, which inspired in 1930 the design of ‘House de Bruyn’.
Villa Kimi’s back façade faces a dune. Compared to the 1930 plans, the entrance was moved to the centre and the rest of the program was rotated one quarter. This worked better with the location in Overveen and with the family wishes. Not a household with servants as in the 1930s, they wanted a spacious kitchen with a maximum view of the garden. On the ground floor is a large living-dining room to the south, with a bay window oriented to the front and side garden. A spacious kitchen and a workroom are situated to the east. The second floor houses the bedrooms, the bathroom and a dressing room while the third floor facilitates a guest room and a terrace room now used as an office space. The tiled interior of the washrooms as well as the tiled entrance stoops refers accordingly to the historic colors and materials in ‘House de Bruyn’. The villa has been built with highly insulated timber frame elements and with insulated steel frame windows. The basement holds an installation space, housing a geothermal storage system linked to the floor heating/cooling system. There is also a balanced ventilation system with heat-recovery and a summer by-pass. Photovoltaic cells, doubling as solar water heaters are placed on the highest roof.
Project information
client
Fam Vossers-Sippens
location
Overveen
completion
juli 2016
completed at
2015-2016
photography by
Luuk Kramer