Together with restoration contractor Burgy from Leiden, the back house, the garden house of the house at Garenmarkt 9 / 9a, has been completely restored and modernized. The new owner lives in this part. The front house with a number of apartments / studios for rent will remain unchanged for the time being.
The house at Garenmarkt 9, 9a is also popularly known as 'Thorbeckehuis'. The house has one of the largest private backyards in Leiden. In the Secret Annex, the garden house (No. 9a), the liberal statesman Johan Rudolph Thorbecke wrote in 1848 the revision of the Constitution, which turned our country into a constitutional monarchy. Thorbecke has lead three cabinets from 1849. A gable stone in the national monument reminds of the habitation by the liberal statesman and professor of law (1798-1872).
| Architects | Ronald Knappers |
The “Meerwijk” district in Schalkwijk, built in the 1960s, has been built on the corner of Bernadottelaan and Albert Schweizerlaan. This center is part of the urban design that was made by our office in 2001. The building with retail spaces, including the Vomar supermarket, an underground parking garage with 215 places and 74 apartments, is one of the sub-plans of the community center. The whole has a modern, transparent and friendly character and adapts well to the neighborhood.
In the heart of the Vijfhoek, a picturesque neighborhood in the historic center of Haarlem, stands a large building erected in 1908 by the Waaning company as a factory for Haarlemmer Olie. The building has since been designated a municipal monument. The section facing the Doelstraat originally served a representative function: richly ornamented office spaces were used to receive visitors and convince them of the remarkable qualities of this “miracle oil.” The rear section contained storage and staff quarters, adjoining an inner courtyard with the boiling room, where the sulphur-rich oil was produced a few days each year.
Since the 1980s, the building has been used as a residence. The division between the front and rear sections has been removed, yet the historic atmosphere remains tangible. The new owner asked us to develop a plan to prepare the entire building for a new century—energy-efficient, comfortable, and focused on the enjoyment of living, both along the street and around the inner garden. The boarded-up garage doors have been replaced with generous glazed folding doors. Using flax insulation, the building is insulated from within; new glazing is installed, and the roof is insulated from the outside. Heat pumps and solar panels provide sustainable energy generation. In close consultation with the Heritage Department, all characteristic elements are preserved—allowing the new residents to begin the next chapter in the rich history of this building.
In close collaboration with restoration contractor Burgy, EPOS Advies, and energy consultancy Kroon, a plan of approach was developed. Construction began in February 2024.
In Wassenaar, 40 duplex houses owned by the housing association St. Willibrordus have been replaced by 86 social rental dwellings, primarily intended for starters and seniors.
The site of the new social housing lies within a village extension from the 1960s. At the time, this was the northernmost district of Wassenaar — spaciously laid out, with views over meadows and farmhouses. In designing the plan for the replacement housing, we built upon the core qualities of the existing neighborhood: generous street profiles, front gardens, and abundant greenery.
The new social housing is distributed across six buildings arranged around a shared courtyard garden. By removing the Stompwijckstraat that previously ran between the plots, space has been created to accommodate residents’ parking within the block, while also allowing room for the communal garden. Along this garden, a community facility has been incorporated.
The buildings feature a formal frontage with so-called ‘zoom dwellings’ on the ground floor — shallow homes with their entrance and a small front garden facing the street. The rear sides adjoin the parking area, which is located beneath an open, green deck. The existing tree structure of the area has been preserved. To ensure privacy for the front gardens, a green strip separates them from the sidewalk. The upper-level homes are accessed via wide external galleries.
The urban design was created by Studio VVKH. To ensure the buildings align in scale with the surrounding structures along the long streets, the façade of the top (third) floor is set back slightly from the building line. The balconies create a connection with the street and are subtly angled to optimize orientation toward the sun. On the northern park side, the buildings are more robust in character, with their height responding to the adjacent apartment block.
The “Villa van Bergenlaan” is located in Rijksdorp, Wassenaar, on the edge of a Natura 2000 protected area.
Situated along a dune ridge, it overlooks the Lentevreugd nature reserve. The villa is modest in expression, partially embedded into the dune, allowing it to become an integral part of the landscape. Energy for the house is generated from sun and air. Because the villa is partly underground, a hybrid structure of concrete and timber has been created.
The materials — including native oak, Fraké wood, concrete, and anodized aluminium — reveal their natural character; nothing is concealed, and in some cases the materials are given a special treatment, such as the wooden slat pattern cast into the concrete. The external façade, one to two storeys high, is clad in timber with concealed window frames.
Characteristic of the villa is the experience of light, space, materiality, and connection with the surrounding landscape. The villa is composed as a sequence of distinct spatial volumes — a modern interpretation of the “Raumplan” principle.
