Function and appearance come together in modern urban villa 

A future-proof urban villa that connects beautifully with the green without disappearing into it. That was the design brief for a detached urban villa on the Randmeersingel in Amsterdam, with which studio RIANKNOP set to work very energetically. The result is a villa with a cosmopolitan look, which in function and appearance adapts to the times. SVK's Colormat Classic facade cladding panels blend in harmoniously.

Studio RIANKNOP designs distinct interiors in which feeling and functionality come together. "We find it very important that occupants and users feel good and comfortable in an interior," says interior designer Rian Knop. "What we discovered over the years is that in addition to material, color and lighting, spatial layout also plays an important role in this. Because the layout affects the language of form, architecture and the design of the facade, these aspects are increasingly becoming part of our designs. This was also the case at Randmeersingel. The owner of this urban villa was already familiar with the work of studio RIANKNOP and gave us the confidence to design both interior and exterior and to coordinate them optimally."

Connection to greenery

"Our client wanted a spacious home in which a larger family could grow to full capacity," says Rian. "That's why each floor is fully facilitated. Moreover, ample attention was paid to daylight and sightlines. Also towards the outside, to create a nice connection with the greenery. The front facade features wide panoramic windows and at the rear a grand glass stairwell has been placed, as an overwhelming, visual statement. All floors are visibly connected. Moreover, the daylighting through the open stairwell is phenomenal."

Coherence and contrast

The stairwell is visible from all corners of the home and is supported by an oak block, which also serves as custom furniture. "The stairwell is literally the connecting element of the home, bringing inside and outside together," said Rian. "Yet contrast was also very deliberately chosen. For example, in the material and color finish of the facade. As a result, the house does not blend into its surroundings, but stands on its own."

Geometric tessellations

For the appearance of the house, studio RIANKNOP was inspired by Bauhaus and brutalist architecture, which focuses on a monumental, cubist form language and geometric surface divisions. "SVK's Colormat Classic façade panels fit in perfectly with this and also give the façade a certain lightness and softening," says Rian. "The facade panels play very nicely with daylight. It is also important that the material fits perfectly into a Dutch polder landscape, but at the same time contrasts very nicely. Because the facade panels can be sawn well, we were able to create a rhythmic tessellation. Like an aesthetic translation of the flat landscape, which is also reflected in the stairwell. The natural color finish provides the desired lightness and freshness. Thanks to the structure of the facade panels, the facade will gray slightly and grow with the surrounding landscape as it ages."

Laudatory responses

For studio RIANKNOP, the villa at Randmeersingel was the first project in which SVK's facade panels were applied in this way and on this scale. "In the past, we did do an interior and part of the facade of a garden house with SVK facade panels," she explains. "So the material was already on my desk. To see if it was also suitable for this urban villa, we conducted an extensive material study." The villa has since been completed and occupied, and both Rian and the residents are very pleased with the result. "The reactions from the surrounding area are also laudatory," she says. "The connection with the greenery works very well and also the pronunciation of the house fits incredibly well. We are really very happy with it."