Villa DKM | AU LAB architects | AU LAB architects

This residence with integrated practice space serves as both the home base and the calling card of AU LAB architects.

The plot is located near the dunes and, thanks to its quiet setting, undulating topography, and distinctive vegetation, exudes a pronounced holiday atmosphere.
The house consists of an elegant stacking of two simple volumes, where various cut-outs create additional depth.

An irregular driveway in exposed aggregate concrete along the side of the house leads to the covered entrance and continues into a winding garden path. The centrally positioned entrance divides the ground floor into two parts: at the front, the practice space with views of a dune landscape featuring marram grass and sea buckthorn; at the rear, the living areas overlooking the undulating garden with a sand bunker and biodiverse planting beds.
The recessed volume of the first floor on all sides offers multiple qualities: it reduces the overall massiveness and surrounds all first-floor spaces with a flowing, semi-intensive green roof garden.

In terms of material use, traditional materials were revisited: the sand-colored brick façade nods to the proximity of the dunes, while the dark-stained wooden cladding and dark bronze anodized window frames provide a counterbalance.

Through organic and rounded forms in the garden design, a deliberate contrast was created with the clean lines of the house and interior.
The alternation between solid wall sections and large window surfaces aims to achieve a delicate balance between a sense of shelter and a connection between interior and exterior. Contact with the surrounding nature is omnipresent: a characterful cork oak in the rear patio serves as the eye-catcher for the kitchen and dining area; by placing the house on an elevated plinth and strategically planting various trees, the entire ground floor enjoys varied views of the surrounding garden; on the first floor as well, the canopy of the cork oak, together with the green roof and the forest beyond, creates an intimate connection with nature.
The narrow, elongated garden shed with a panoramic sauna at the back also blends into the landscape: reflective glazing in the sauna mirrors the greenery while providing privacy and views of the adjacent water feature and seating area.

The entire interior was designed by AU LAB and further blurs the boundary between inside and outside: the travertine flooring in the practice and living areas continues onto the terraces, while the exterior brick walls reappear inside the practice space as interior walls.

Furniture in dark smoked oak, smoked walnut, and Iranian travertine gives the ground floor interior a warm character.
On the first floor, a combination of afrormosia parquet and furniture and wall finishes in dark smoked oak and Muschelkalk creates a coherent and gentle ensemble.

Photos © Yannick Milpas
Fireplace © Vuurpunt