HOMES NETHERLANDS

Angle delight
The zig-zag copper-clad extension to this Dutch suburban
house certainly turns heads, but it is also a deceptively
practical solution to maximise the floor area
WORDS JULIET BENNING PHOTOGR APHY LOUIS LEMAIRE/INSIDE HOME PAGE

IN BRIEF
–
LOCATION Muiderberg,
The Netherlands 
TYPE OF PROPERTY
Detached family house
BEDROOMS 4
PROJECT STARTED
January 2016
PROJECT FINISHED The extension is a
December 2016 clever configuration
SIZE 200sqm of light-filled boxes
that houses the
TOTAL BUILD COST £650,000 kitchen, dining
CURRENT VALUE £1.2 million and seating areas

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F L O O R PL A N S

ATTIC

BEDROOM

SECOND FLOOR

BEDROOM

BEDROOM

SHOWER ROOM

FIRST FLOOR

F
rom the base of a run-of-the-mill Dutch suburban
home now bursts a skirt of glass and copper, a clever BEDROOM

configuration of light-filled boxes and angular cutaways

BATHROOM
that has given its owners and their children not only
space to expand as a family, but a dramatic counterpoint to the
LAUNDRY
original 1930s building.
Diana Cojocaru, 39, and Georgios Tsorovas, 40, both
orthodontists, moved from an apartment in central Amsterdam KITCHEN
WC
to the village of Muiderberg to give their daughter, Sofia, then
three, and the baby they were expecting, a garden. They also
needed something that suited their more contemporary tastes.
‘The house had been renovated by the previous owner, but
DINING ROOM
our idea was to make it bigger and more modern,’ says Georgios.
LIVING ROOM
‘Diana and Georgios wanted an addition that would open
up to the whole garden so that they would feel as if they were
outside, even when they were inside,’ says architect Jacco van
Wengerden, who proposed four designs, including an option
In the living area, RIGHT From the with two arms that extended into the outdoor space. This was
the richly-coloured street, the new GROUND FLOOR
the one that the couple chose to commission.
backdrop of cherry front door is all
wood panelling that can be seen The zig-zag outline of the extension defines separate kitchen,
creates intimacy of the extension dining and living areas without the need for partition walls,

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‘The owners wanted an addition that LEFT A pair of glass

pocket doors link
BELOW The new
fireplace connects to
would open up to the whole garden so the dining section
to the garden.
the original chimney,
with another added
that they would feel as if they were The triangular
skylights above
upstairs. The flues
are at 45° angles
outside, even when they were inside’ reflect the cutaways
in the floor plan
to work around a
steel beam

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OPPOSITE AND LEFT BELOW Paring the

The kitchen bar, with staircase back to
integrated appliances, its essential elements
is the focal point of has freed up extra
family life. Steel space beneath. The
supports are hidden suspension rods are
behind timber powder-coated steel

keeping the ground floor open-plan, with sightlines between dining

and living areas through the glazed walls. By taking slices out of the
built footprint, it also allowed Jacco to make the most of the permitted
development area. ‘We liked the angular cuts into the space and the fact
that we could see everything on the main floor,’ says Georgios.
The couple found Jacco, of Atelier van Wengerden, on the internet,
attracted by the functional simplicity of his designs and his combination
of a bold, modern style with traditional architecture. They were also
reassured by his familiarity with de welstandscommissie, the ‘beauty
commission’, a panel of architects and urban planners who watch over
any architectural changes to period buildings in The Netherlands.
Finding the right house, however, was a slower process. ‘We took our
time, looking at three other properties in the village, but decided on this
one because it was detached, well-positioned on the plot, had a good-sized
garden and was a fair price,’ says Georgios.
Because the couple wanted the building work done before they moved
in, they rented a house nearby. Getting the approval of de welstandscommissie
went smoothly as Jacco had held regular meetings with the panel throughout
the design process, allowing work to begin on schedule.
Diana was closely involved in selecting the materials, such as choosing
copper for the exterior cladding, for instance. ‘We thought about it very
carefully,’ she explains. ‘We wanted something that was durable, but

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  HOMES NETHERLANDS

‘We changed everything

upstairs and the exterior
walls are the only original
parts that remain’

ABOVE AND RIGHT bathtub is Sa Oche which would show the markings of passing time. There’s a continuation
A sliding glass screen by Vallone, made of the russet tones of the bricks, but eventually it will weather to greeny blue
separates the from Velvet Stone,
en-suite bath and a mineral composite. and become more a part of the garden.’
shower room from The dark stone Inside, the emphasis was on simple and functional design. Jacco used
the main bedroom. wall was shipped stone, cherry wood and steel for the surfaces and the internal structure,
The sculptural from Romania
including substantial timber-clad steels that have replaced some of
the original walls. He was also asked to re-work the rest of the house
to suit family life. What began as a simple need for more space soon
turned into a complete renovation. ‘We changed everything upstairs

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Positioning the
footboard of Sofia’s
bed under the eaves
S U PPL I E R S
left more floorspace –
for her to play in
PROJECT TEAM
Architect and project manager
Jacco van Wengerden, Atelier van
Wengerden (vanwengerden.com)
Structural engineer dioCON (diocon.nl)

STRUCTURE
Windows Ron Duiveman (ronduiveman.nl)
Window in pitched roof Velux (velux.co.uk)
Staircase steel fabrication Kiljan (kiljan.nl)
Copper sheet cladding
Elshof Metaaldak (elshof.nl)

FIXTURES & FITTINGS

Wood cladding Thomas Meubels
(thomasmeubels.nl)
Resin floor Indri vloersystemen (indri.nl)
Underfloor heating Esni (esni.nl)
Kitchen fit out and design
Thomas Meubels (as before)
Kitchen taps MGS (mgstaps.com)
Dining area light fitting Ingo Maurer
(shop.ingo-maurer.com)
Bath Vallone (vallone.de)
Showerhead Rare (raresistemidoccia.com)
Granite shower wall Antolini (antolini.com)
Log burner Dik Geurts
(drufire.com/nl-nl/dik-geurts)

FURNITURE & ACCESSORIES

Sofa Viccarbe (viccarbe.com)
Dining table Casamania (horm.it)
Dining chairs Et Al (et-al.it)
Kitchen appliances Gaggenau
(gaggenau.com)
Cooker extractor Novy (novy.com)
Fridges Liebherr (home.liebherr.com)
Dishwasher Bosch (bosch.co.uk)

and the exterior walls are the only parts of the original
house that now remain,’ says Georgios.
Although the project overran by approximately six
months, work flowed reasonably smoothly thanks to a
good relationship between architect and contractor but it
did require the family to extend the lease on their rented
home. The most troublesome setback involved the poured
resin floor. ‘It was difficult because the layered process was
sensitive to humidity,’ says Diana. ‘It took several attempts
to get it right, with us moving back into the house and
then each time having to move out again.’
Diana, Georgios, Sophia and new arrival Dimos (aged
three) are now happily established in their new home.
‘We love the huge kitchen, where we can all see and be
close to one another,’ says Diana. ‘Our dream of a house
that blends into its garden has been fully realised.’

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