Sleek home extension with Renson Linarte

‘Binoculars’ get vertical cladding

A unique location along the river Spui in Oud-Beijerland (NL) offers a view of architectural complex De Beerenplaat on the other bank. Logically, the residents did not want to leave their detached home there when they were in need of more space. A hefty renovation offered the solution. RoosRos Architects drew up the design of a pair of binoculars that peered over the river and was enveloped by Storax in Renson Linarte cladding.

8 houses with a view
In Oud-Beijerland (NL), eight identical detached houses were erected along the Spui in the 1990s. Across the river, the homes have a unique view of the De Beerenplaat drinking water treatment complex, an architectural masterpiece by the renowned Wim Quist. The owners of the corner house decided just under 30 years after its construction that it was time for an update AND an upgrade. They engaged architect Chi-Hang Chim.

Facelift and expansion
“The residents wanted a larger home, but were really attached to the unique location. RoosRos Architects was asked to modernize the home in a contemporary way as well as expand it with a bedroom and studio space,” recalls Chi-Hang Chim. “The addition of two sleek, box-like volumes to the home creates an exciting new composition between the existing main volume and the two new volumes. The home gains additional spatial quality in the living experience with the addition of a new loft; nearly 70 sq. ft. of additional living space is created.” The original house was post-insulated and equipped with an air conditioning system. The facades were plastered white so that the everyday, “boring” gray brick was a thing of the past.

The binoculars

On the waterfront, the volume protrudes from the façade in a quirky way. “Like binoculars, the new addition beckons across the Spui to Beerenplaat,” explains the architect. “From this master bedroom, residents have a phenomenal view of the river and Quist’s beautiful architecture.” These binoculars the architect wanted to materialize differently from the house itself. “We wanted the extension to be as sleek as possible, with no visible seams. Linarte is a tough material, with beautiful, vertical lines and you can detail it away well. Renson’s aluminum cladding, in a black color, also provides the desired contrast to the white stucco that has almost no relief. In the middle of “the binoculars,” we also provided a kind of vertical cut, a window with a small stripe of stucco above and below. Integrating the window completely seamlessly into the cladding would also have been technically possible, but we really wanted to put in that break. That further emphasizes the verticality.”

“In this project, we used the Block 30 variant of the Linarte profiles,” adds Fabian Greveling (Storax). “The grooves 30 mm deep in the profiles still make the contrasts and shadows stand out better than with Block 16, especially seen from a greater distance. It has more impact, creates relief.”

An additional practical advantage of the vertical cladding is that it cleans up on its own when it rains. “That ease of maintenance has Linarte ahead of the horizontal slats on which dirt stays faster. In the location of this home, that is certainly the case, due to the proximity of several tall trees along the side.” In total, the aluminum vertical cladding covers 120 m². In addition to the “binoculars,” a piece of the other side of the house – specifically, the bathroom dungeon – also sticks out in Linarte.

Complex corner
The engineering was done in consultation between architect, contractor Kees Ros Bouw and project partner Storax. “The main issue here was the connection of the cladding to the sloping side on the corner on the river side,” Fabian knows. “In fact, the wide framing of the windows overlooking the river runs 145° inward. The Linarte profile could not extend far enough because the horizontal profile support came into conflict with the flashing going inward. We translated the extrusion angle on the drawing into a Renson solution within our program.”

Smooth consultation
“For the rest, the architect had already worked everything out nicely,” Fabian believes. “It is pleasant when the building is already (re)designed in the system in which it is used. Then you don’t have to do too much engineering on that.”

“Overall, the cooperation and consultation went very well,” Chi also agrees. “We did draw some principle details, but the contractor then buys in and works with Storax. If the installer then runs into any points, we look at how we solve them in brief consultation.”

Spotlight

“So far, we have received only positive feedback,” the architect proudly echoes. “People praise the design, but the execution with the tightly detailed binoculars also appeals.”

“Through social media, we are already getting signs of recognition,” Fabian also let us know. “The home, of course, is a real eye-catcher on the waterfront, right across from another architectural gem.”