Sustainable, custom-made energy concept for villa proposal

For a private house situated within stunning scenery of Barneveld in the Netherlands, Amsterdam-based practice studioninedots has proposed a villa design inspired by the monastries that once graced the area.

Villa Groothof is situated in the beautiful surroundings of the city of Barneveld. Each side of the plot has its own quality and stunning views to the surrounding landscape. The client wants a private house that respects these surroundings and the history of the site. Furthermore, the client wants a house with a continuous organisation without any dead ends. This allows him, as a professor, to walk around and think.

All images courtesy Studioninedots

The rich history of the site tells many stories of ancient monasteries. By transforming the monastery typology Studioninedots created a house with intertwining routes. Like the monasteries, the villa has an inner courtyard where you can sit in silence, meditate or create special events with friends or family. Around the courtyard a loop has been created with multiple contrasts between the inside and outside.

The living area will be a transparent pavilion on a solid concrete base that is rooted in the earth, filled with private program. In this way the building gets both an introvert and extrovert character and a subdued relation with the landscape. The name of the site becomes the concept, Villa Groothof (big courtyard)!

Regarding some of the concept’s sustainability features, the practice told sustain’:

“Studioninedots has emphasized two themes in the design: reducing waste at the building site and creating a sustainable, custom-made energy concept.

“We have chosen a closed soil balance. This means that the earth that will be removed for the construction of the house will be replaced on the lot so no soil becomes waste and transportation energy is saved.

“Next to this we have developed a energy concept especially for this project. The climate control is based on the vertical transportation of heat and cold that is extracted from the ground. The footprint of the building functions as a heat collector. In winter, the heat from the ground is used for heating and in summer, the cold of the ground is used to cool the house. Through water pipes in the concrete, this cold and heat is vertically pumped from the basement to the ground and first floor.

“The extra heat that is collected in summer in the concrete deck will be stored in the soil so it can be used the following winter. This system creates a constant interior climate and reduces the required heating energy greatly.”