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Family Villa Built 50 years ago has been Beautifully Remodeled and Converted into a Comfortable Home

By • Oct 17, 2017

This 50 year old villa has been recently remodeled to turn it a comfortable, modern, and completely sustainable home. To achieve this transformation, its owners, architect Theo Reitsema (head of the architectural firm Reitsema and Partners Architects and interior designer Stephanie Weitering, lived with their children in the house for a period of one year, during which heard, felt, and explored the possibilities presented by the house and its location.

The 276-square-meter villa is located in the middle of a thick forest in the Dutch community of Rijssen, in The Netherlands.

Reitsema and Weitering made discoveries during that first year that would help with the transformation of the house. For example, since the family occupied the villa through all seasons, they realized that living on a hill in the forest means being surrounded by vegetation in summer, and since the thick foliage provides shade, the house does not need any solar protection or air conditioning beyond a ledge on the west side. And in winter, the low sun warms the house, and its occupants can see for hundreds of meters through the branches.

The architects have taken a number of measures to ensure that the house will continue to provide a high level of comfort in the future. They have installed a heat recovery system, triple glazing, high quality insulation, LED lighting, and energy efficient appliances, making Villa RR almost power neutral and ready for the next 50 years.

View from the outside of the villa amidst the thick vegetation of the forest
View from the outside of the villa amidst the thick vegetation of the forest
View from the outside of the villa amidst the thick vegetation of the forest
View from the outside of the villa amidst the thick vegetation of the forest
View from the outside of the villa amidst the thick vegetation of the forest

Modern interior with glass walls and modern furniture
Modern interior with glass walls and modern furniture
Night view of the exterior
Night view of the exterior
Night view of the exterior

Night view of the exterior


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