FUTURISTE HUT

Words :: Will Jones // Images :: Christian Richters

‘A futuristic hut…’
…that is how Ben van Berkel, architect of VilLA NM, describes this exquisitely modern house with a twist in the middle.In dubbing the villa a hut van Berkel, principal of Dutch architect UN Studio, is doing it somewhat of an injustice. However, he is attempting to liken it to the lakeside dacha in Russia or vacation cottage in Canada. VilLA NM is not a regular house, it is, again in van Berkel’s words, ‘a house for summers, for weekends, for stolen time: a rural retreat for a family of idealistic, glamorous urbanites.’
Situated in a hilly wooded area, on a plot of 75,350 ft2 some two hours drive from NYC, the villa is part of a renaissance for this area of up-state New York, which used to be a destination for the elite during the 1920s and 30s. In more recent years the area suffered a decline in popularity, but now it is once again regaining its popularity amongst younger people who want to escape the bustle of the big city.
A sloping site affords tremendous 360º view of the forests and meadows and UN Studio has maximized them with wraparound glazed facades to al but the most private rooms. The villa is, however, not your usual sprawling play-pad for the nouveau riche. It is compact at a mere 2690 ft2. It is clean and ordered, the interior revealed as a smooth white world devoid of the clutter of regular life. The exterior is colored like the earth, its windows tinted like the sky at dusk. All in all, the villa is the perfect antidote to the complicated tangle of city life: a pristine abode that allows you to move through the pleasures of the day with unencumbered ease.
UN Studio is renowned in Europe for designs of this style and caliber, and it was a previous work that attracted the client to van Berkel and Co. “The family owning VilLA NM are enthusiasts for invention,” says the architect. “They had seen our Moebius House in a New York MoMA exhibition and felt attracted by the idea of living in an experiment.”

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Pictures:

Details:

Architect
UN Studio, Netherlands

Landscape Architect
Pouder Design Group, USA

Pool Construction
Swift Water Pools, USA

Grounds Landscaping
Maciejevski Landscaping, USA