Thoreau’s cabin in Utrecht, Netherlands by cc-studio

Article source: cc-studio

Sited in the 5900 acre Noorderpark in Utrecht, the Netherlands this cabin provides a warm and dry escape for wet and tired volunteers that maintain the park. The 35 m2 cabin replaces a 1966 storage and break shelter for park maintenance, and was built without permit as it maintained a similar size and function.

Image Courtesy © John Lewis Marshall

Architects: cc-studio
Project: Thoreau’s cabin
Location: Utrecht, Netherlands
Photography: John Lewis Marshall
Client: Private
Engineering And Structural Design: cc-studio
Contractor: Van Zoelen bv.
Gross Floor Area: 42m2
Volume: 150m3
Height (max): 3,5m

Image Courtesy © John Lewis Marshall

Hidden in the forest and covered by lush foliage, the volume has been shaped so that it reveal its presence only at the very last moment. Two large sliding doors open up the entire corner of the building blending the interior with the surrounding open space; a little green meadow where sheep graze to keep the young trees at bay.

Image Courtesy © John Lewis Marshall

With neither running water nor electricity, local firewood is used to fuel the kitchen and fireplace. This sculptural hearth forms the heart of the cabin, which includes a storage room, washroom, and eating space. The hearth supports a folding aluminum-clad roof structure, which creates a protective yet open canopy that blends into the surrounding flora.

The architecture of the cabin complements the pastoral elegance of the park. You can almost picture Thoreau writing Walden here.

Image Courtesy © John Lewis Marshall

Image Courtesy © cc-studio

Image Courtesy © cc-studio

Company Profile

Architecture is made for people by people and built within our natural environment. We care about all 3. Our niche is in projects in which we can inventively combine technical and sustainable innovations with strong architectural qualities like remarkable spatial experience and efficient functionality.

We like to work for open minded clients and operate well with in the constraints of tight budgets. Good constraints trigger more “out of the box thinking”, more creativity, fun and inventiveness during the whole process. An open mind is important to be able tot see and make use of opportunities along the road. As a small studio we believe strongly in an intelligent and interactive creative collaboration with all involved in the process of the design and it’s realization: clients, advisors, (sub-)contractors and industries. Our office is situated in a multidisciplinary creative industrial environment (www.davincicreatieveruimtes.nl).

Recent and ongoing cc-studio projects:

Fabric Facade studio apartment in Almere, (Daylight Award & Material Innovation prize nominee 2012)
2011
Research on the use of ultra light weight and dynamic innovative insulation (reflective inner facade) in the Genieloods art exhibition space in Vijfhuizen (1st prize entry in the International Design Competition Genieloods with COOP-architects)
2011
Garden Shed in Watergraafsmeer, Amsterdam,
2012
Building of the first KasCo glass house in Buiksloterham, Amsterdam North in 2015 in collaboration with Dill architecten.
2012-ongoing (building phase)
Design of 14 KasCo glass houses in Utrecht
2012-ongoing (design phase)
Urban Villa, double plot villa with 12m sliding doors and cascading balconies.
2013-ongoing (building phase)
Redesign of an 1920 house in Utrecht.
2014
Renovation and redesign of a 1875 Amsterdam town house.
2015 – ongoing (design phase)
Design of a green single family house in Utrecht
2015-ongoing (design phase)

Architect profile

DANNY VAN KESSEL Roermond, The Netherlands, 1986, architect, graduated in Architecture & Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology in 2012. Previously worked as assistant designer at Sophie Valla Architect, where he worked on several competitions (Urban block, Zuidplaza) and the Noorderpark research project. In 2009 won the public choice award for the Media KunstMobiel. From 2012-2014 he worked as an architectural researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology on a method for determining the influences of building material on realized architectural form. Started working at cc-studio in 2011 as designer and builder of the Garden Shed project.

Image Courtesy © John Lewis Marshall

PETER HEIDEMAN, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 1967, graduated from Building Technology College in 1993 and in 2000 from the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam. From 1996-1998 he worked on NeutelingRiedijk’s Amsterdam Borneo Sporenburg projects, from 1998-2006 as an architect for VenhoevenCS, where he designed projects like the tight budgeted, and by integral design resolved, fire station of Den Helder and the Kindercluster’t Zand. Since 1993 have done a number of independent projects and alterations for private clients like a house boat in Amsterdam and a recreational habitat in Groenekan. Peter incidentally teaches at the Academies of Architecture in Amsterdam and Arnhem.

Image Courtesy © John Lewis Marshall

GERALD LINDNER, Mombasa, Kenya 1966, engineer, graduated in Civil Engineering in 1990 from the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands; worked for various engineering firms, like Octatube Space Structures in general engineering and as a specialist in glass structures. In 1997 made the switch to architecture and designed withTrudeHooykaas the international award winning Kraanspoor project for OTH in Amsterdam. In 2001 became part time university assistant professor at the Technical University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands, worked independently as engineer & designer –2005 2^nd in “Europan 8″, Steel Prize in 2008 for co-engineering “Kooi met geenPoemaerin”, in 2010 1^st in International Design Competition Genieloods with COOP, started cc-studio in 2010 with Peter Heideman.