NEW MANOR at Vecht Region, Netherlands by MVRDV.

Architect: MVRDV
Principal in charge: Winy Maas
Partner: Frans de Witte
Design team: Bart HollandersMartin DelgadoMarin KulasRene MareyKersten NabilekUli QueisserMarnix VinkAndrew TangGuus PetersThijs Ultee
Copyright: MVRDV Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries
Partners: Frans de Witte
Management: Remco van Dam Engineering, Meerkerk, Netherlands
Structure: ABT, Velp, Netherlands
Costing: Bouwhaven Consultans B.V., Barendrecht, Netherlands
Facilitary Office: Bouwhaven Consultans B.V., Barendrecht, Netherlands
Climate / Acoustics: Adviesburo Nieman B.V., Utrecht, Zwolle, Netherlands
Landscape: Winy Maas and Greenland Beheer BV, Leersum, Netherlands
Copijn Utrecht Tuin en Landschapsarchitecten bv, Utrecht, Netherlands: Contractor: Koninklijke Woudenberg, Ameide, Netherlands
Location: Netherlands
City: Vecht region
Year: 2004
Surface: 1500 m²
Status: Realised
Programmes: Residential
Themes: Architecture , Interiors

The New Manor is surrounded by trees and small riverbanks.
The New Manor is surrounded by trees and small riverbanks.
The house has a brick wall decorated with sconces.
The house has a brick wall decorated with sconces.
The living room has a sofa and carpet which also overlooks the dining room.
The living room has a sofa and carpet which also overlooks the dining room.
The house has a collection of books and you can spot them in most rooms.
The house has a collection of books and you can spot them in most rooms.
A brick staircase leads to the upper floor and the walls were made of glass.
A brick staircase leads to the upper floor and the walls were made of glass.
The library is made from wooden bookshelves that reaches the upper floors.
The library is made from wooden bookshelves that reaches the upper floors.
There is also a long curtain in the small library.
There is also a long curtain in the small library.
The interior of the house is decorated with artwork and wall lights.
The interior of the house is decorated with artwork and wall lights.
The bricks and wood blends in perfectly with the paint and lighting.
The bricks and wood blends in perfectly with the paint and lighting.
The bricks show the rich history of the house since the 17th century.
The bricks show the rich history of the house since the 17th century.
The Manor has a large lawn and is landscaped with beautiful flowers.
The Manor has a large lawn and is landscaped with beautiful flowers.

The Vecht area in the Netherlands, between Maarsen and Vreeland, consists of a succession of 17th-century country estates with country houses dating from the same period, strung along the banks of the river Vecht. A property was acquired by a family wishing to create a new house here.

But how can one build a house worthy of this location? A house in the spirit of its historic neighbors (and complying with local planning regulations) while still distinctively modern: a new manor house.

The Vecht area, between Maarsen and Vreeland, consists of a succession of 17th-century country estates with country houses, strung along the banks of the river Vecht. It was an out-of-town residence for rich merchants from Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age.

The requirement for the new development was for a house that bore the hallmarks of the Vecht region, with the classic volume and silhouette of 17th-century country houses. This condition implies a “cage” within which the design options are contained. Within the cage, each of the programmed components is hung as individual blocks.

The programmed components are arranged in clusters that are stacked one on one, each having its own internal organization and height. They are organised as blocks that are placed or suspended within the given volume. The stacking of these blocks creates an intriguing, meandering and variously intervening space.

This is the social space of the house and it both connects and separates all the rooms. It also functions as an acoustic buffer between separate components.

Staircases are “carved” out of the blocks so that they are visible and occupy as little space as possible. Wooden footbridges communicate between the blocks. The blocks have varying façade finishes that make them individually identifiable: stone, stucco, brickwork and slate, a combination of materials that echoes other houses in the region.

Inward-opening doors give each block a clear ‘address’ in the house. This suggests a specific relation to the intervening space. Outward-opening doors create a strong relationship with the estate park. The house can accordingly be read as a tiny village, one that respects the demands, the use and the spatial composition required by its inhabitants.

The landscape of the property may be interpreted as a collection of different gardens, each with its own plants and shrubs, character and use. There is a classic main garden with lawns and rhododendron, a vegetable garden, a wet wood, a dry wood, a reed bed and meadow different rooms of the garden.

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