Metal-Wrapped Home Typifies North European Modern Frugality

A metal-encased volume set amid green pastures on the outside; impeccable white and sparse furniture on the inside. The ultra-modern VDVT House is, quite clearly, the product of northern sensibilities – designed by the Boetzkes Helder practice, in Arnhem, Netherlands. The façade, covered in expanded metal sheets is just sleek and cool looking. It also contains a special layer of coating, which has the home change color depending on the sun’s position. Built between 2007 and 2011 in the suburb of Schuytgraaf, the home’s structure was carefully planned out in aluminum frames. The monolithic volume of the residence is placed diagonally on the plot, which runs parallel to the street. Inside, the floors are poured concrete, the walls are impeccable white, the floating staircase and kitchen furniture are in warm oak, while the décor pieces are so few and far between, that the existent ones truly stand out. The watercolor of a seated middle-aged man in the living room. The rocking chair in one of the bedrooms. The beautifully simple circular mirror above the meandering double sink in the bathroom.

Boetzkes Helder are Servie Boetzkes and Jeroen Helder, both born in 1977. With a portfolio that’s obviously dominated by simple volumes for intelligent living and minimal impact on the environment, their body of work thus far speaks of a practice with their eyes set firmly on the future. Check out their entries for the Prix de Rome and Taipei Museum of Art competitions, to sample some of their most imaginative work to date. All photos taken by Merel van Beukering.

(Source: BoetzkesHelder.nl)