[ Bureau Ira Koers ] Merry-Go-Round

Amsterdam studio Bureau Ira Koers have completed a holiday home on the edge of Dwingeloose Heide (Dutch heath) in the Netherlands.

Called Merry-Go-Round, the house has narrow floor-to ceiling windows on all sides, which can be covered with shutters.

The interior is divided into eight rooms, connected by a passageway around the edge that opens up to the surroundings.

The project was commissioned by Stichting Arthouses.

Here’s some more information from Bureau Ira Koers:

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Merry-Go-Round

Although ideas about recreation and the design of the landscape have changed over the years, the typology of the holiday cottage has hardly altered at all.

Ever since the recreational outing of several days or more came into vogue in the sixties, we have seen the same mini-version of the standard home.

Whereas the confined space of a boat or caravan has led to clever design solutions, the country cottage has never developed an identity of its own.

The design of the Merry-Go-Round gives new meaning to the holiday cottage by taking the traditional floor plan with its rooms opening onto a central hallway and turning it inside out.

The rooms are replaced by eight open alcoves in which furniture, colour, light, material, lines of sight and views of the outdoor surroundings are bundled into one compact, fixed interior.

The alcoves are connected by a corridor that runs all around the perimeter of the dwelling and opens onto the landscape.

By adjusting the façade, which is comprised of shutters, the vacationing residents of the Merry-Go-Round can determine the view and their privacy themselves.

Merry-Go-Round is one of the five realized Arthouses and is located on the edge the famous Dutch heath (Dwingeloose Heide).

Initiated and commissioned by the foundation Arthouses it is the realization of permanent ArtHouses intended for holiday tourism.

The Dutch Province Drenthe has to apply the LEADER initiative to integrate arts and recreation in the Dutch landscapes.

Project: Rentable holiday home on the Dutch heath
Client: Stichting Arthouses
Location: Bungalowpark Lanka, Anholt 11, Ruinen, The Netherlands
Design: Bureau Ira Koers
Contractor: Bouwbedrijf Geerts
Engineers: Kr8 architecten
Design: April 2005 – January 2008
Construction: February 2008 – August 2009
Volume: 55 m2 / 143 m3
Costs: 100.000 euro
Photographs: Bureau Ira Koers

from  dezeen