The holiday home Kazemat Koningsweg by JCR Architecten in the Netherlands is hidden in the landscape. The small holiday home is embedded in the ground and covered with natural flora. The camouflage creates a place where you can slow down and make a special connection with nature. The area is part of the Veluwe, where deer, foxes, birds, insects and other animals know no boundaries and come close to the hide.
JCRARCHITECTEN
https://www.jcr-architecten.nl/
Sebastian van Damme
Kazemat Koningsweg
Nothing is as it Seems.
The Kazemat Koningsweg is a hiding place on the Veluwe in the Netherlands. The competition brief called for a folly that hides and camouflages itself in the natural landscape. The small holiday home is a place to slow down and get in touch with nature. The area is part of the Veluwe, where deer, foxes, birds, insects and other animals know no boundaries and come close to the hide.
The area was a former military area and has been transformed into an area for living, working and eleven small holiday cottages. Kazemat Koningsweg is sunk into the ground, covered with the natural flora of the area and overlooks the terrain. The house hides, digs in and presents itself as an element of the landscape. On closer inspection, the features of a bunker can be seen - angular and brutal.
The folly takes a hidden position, camouflaging itself, but also wanting to show itself. The landscape folds up and is sharply cut off by a mirrored window, which camouflages the hidden volume in a completely different way.
Through the metal door you descend into the earth up to your waist and enter an open and transparent space. The sloping canopy directs your view outwards, across the ground and towards the treetops.
The unfolding space is supported by heavy columns and constructed from robust materials such as poured-in-place concrete, sturdy timber and a sophisticated curtain wall. This combination makes the Folly both Spartan and delicate.
The surface of the building is lifted and nature is cut loose and unfolded. The landscape and its animals are given a prominent place on the roof. The sloping column pierces the green roof and provides a habitat for animals. There is space for birds and bats.
