Experience Timeless Elegance and Modern Living in Mecanoo's Villa BW
How Does Mecanoo's Villa BW Harmonize Nature and Contemporary Design?

Villa BW is embraced by a naturally sloping landscape, featuring a double-curved roof and a distinct facade. The roof is formed by two overlapping shapes - a gable roof on the dune-side, reminiscent of the Oorsprongweg street scene, and a horizontal roofline on the polder-side.

The villa is built across three floors, with an extra level in the roof's hood. The terrain's natural course and the dune landscape's replenishment have resulted in the ground floor and basement level (-1) having a direct connection to the environment. Facing southeast, the connection to the sloped garden and landscape is further strengthened by two voids enclosed by a curtain wall system.

The connection between the landscape and the house is expressed through the facade and roof cladding, which is covered in a single natural material - a custom ceramic tile. This multicolored glazed tile cladding reflects the transitions in the landscape, from dunes to polders, and the soil layers, from light to dark.

In the interior, all living spaces are organised around the curtain wall-enclosed voids and an enclosed wood-cladded core. The curtain wall provides transparency and daylight down to the basement levels. The enclosed element feature of the interior from the basement to the hood of the building accommodates supporting functions. The interior design is completed by beautifully framed views of the surrounding countryside, utilising wooden frames passing through the traditional tile work.

The façade’s colour and appearance play a part in the transition from dune to polder landscape. The monolithic presence of the building volume is accentuated through the sloping roof surfaces and exterior walls. These are covered with tiles of the same continuous material - multicoloured glazed ceramic tiles. The hue of these tiles forms a coherent whole, making a connection and blending the building into the transformative landscape.

Colour use is consistent with the shades of the environment, ensuring that the villa is absorbed in the changing terrain. The dune and polder landscape in various seasons is mirrored in the design’s colour spectrum consisting of 5 shades of grey, green and blue. The glaze of the tiles is vibrant, and glossy and has an iridescent effect, creating a pearlescent appearance on the tiles, and also influencing the incidence of light on the appearance of the facade and roof.









Popular Articles
Popular articles from the community
David Ortega Stacks a Two-Story Mexico City Penthouse Around a Steel Stair and a Pergola-Shaded Roof Terrace
In Colonia Roma, a 300 m² penthouse uses oak joinery, a planted steel stair and a slatted roof pergola to make a new-build apartment feel like a house.
ETEH Reworks the Shared Spaces of São Domingos School in Brazil Around Timber, Color and Hanging Plants
At São Domingos School in Brazil, 436 m² of hall, refectory and library are recast with timber joinery, a yellow and blue code and trailing greenery.
Singing Woman: An Opera House That Performs Before the Curtain Rises
Ovidiu Cristian Pavel's conceptual opera house translates Estonia's choral identity into a sculpted waterfront landmark facing the Baltic Sea.
The Amber Palace Opera: A Geological Fiction Surfaces on Tallinn's Baltic Waterfront
Pierre Brillard reimagines a Baltic legend as a public landscape, opera house, and waterfront promenade rooted in Tallinn's coastal identity.
Similar Reads
You might also enjoy these articles
Rede Arquitetos Turns Circulation into Civic Space at the Educar II SESC School in Fortaleza
In Fortaleza, Brazil, Educar II SESC-CE trades a signature form for mesh screens, yellow thresholds and courtyard walkways built for equatorial heat.
116 Rokeby Building, Collingwood
Sustainable Collingwood office building featuring double-skin façade, natural ventilation, rooftop amenities, and carbon-neutral design focused on wellbeing and longevity.
Contemporary Apartment Renovation in Spain: RV House by BIAN Opens Up to the Sea
A minimalist 1930s apartment in Santander is transformed into a flexible, sea-facing home through contemporary Spanish renovation.
3 Marías House: A Contemporary Mediterranean Courtyard Retreat by Bajet Giramé + Burckhardt
Mediterranean courtyard home blending traditional architecture with modern design, terracotta flooring, flexible interiors, sustainable climate strategies, and garden integration.
Explore Architecture Competitions
Discover active competitions in this discipline
Challenge to reimagine the Iron Throne
Photograph architecture without architects
Illustrate the lost glory of Angkor Wat - Render Challenge
Design challenge to reuse E-waste
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to add comments
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!