Unknown Architects

House on a Dune

The House on a Dune has two faces. Upon arrival, the home appears modest: a long, rectangular volume with a gabled roof and a relatively closed façade. However, at the rear, the holiday home opens up completely to the landscape and the inland view. The stepped floor plan, combined with the gabled roof, creates a dynamic appearance, with a sloping roofline that runs parallel to the descending dune landscape.

The House on a Dune is our second holiday home on Terschelling, but it has a completely different appearance than its predecessor – House in the Dunes. In terms of materiality, it draws inspiration from the characteristic holiday houses in the area: single-story buildings with red roofs, no gutters, and brick façades. The upper structure is built entirely from CLT (cross-laminated timber). The gable ends are constructed from sand-colored brick, while the long façades are infilled between the brick piers with weathered timber cladding or wooden window frames. The roof features a contemporary interpretation of the traditional red tile, with the supporting structure intentionally left visible.

The stepped floor plan consists of three bays: workshop and living room, entrance and dining room, and the kitchen-living area. The character of each room is defined by the height of the roof edge, which varies per space. The sitting room has an intimate atmosphere with a low-set window facing the landscape, while the kitchen-living area has a more open character, with a large sliding door opening onto the terrace. In the basement, three spacious bedrooms are provided with natural light by making use of the elevation changes in the dune landscape.