Hans Van Heeswijk

Hans van Heeswijk’s Rieteiland House

When architects build for themselves, they are probably their own most critical customers. Hans van Heeswijk has certainly realised his private living dream – and that in an architectural quality that sets standards. State-of-the-art technology accompanies the dream of space and, in its combination with KELLER minimal windows®, it will probably provide countless building owners with new impetus.

The exterior structure is clear: on one side – facing the mainland – the cube is clad with perforated aluminium panels, some of which can be moved to reveal the windows behind them. The remaining three sides are purely KELLER minimal windows®, interrupted only by a few static struts.

A great deal of outlook also implies a great deal of insight, and so the cube ultimately shimmers in the landscape and – when the shades are not drawn – allows an unimpaired view of the generous architecture. The three-storey building plays with air spaces and in this way makes the already generous floors even more opulent. A tower formed with wooden formwork rises up through the floors in the middle of the glass cube; the ‘magic box’, as the house owner calls it, houses the technical systems and private rooms such as the bathroom and toilets. On the second floor a roof terrace has been set in a recess at one corner, allowing one to sit outside while still perfectly retained the shape of the cube through the circumferential housing edge.

Barrier-free construction
Timeless materials such as aluminium, steel, glass, concrete and wood result in a mix that retains sober objectivity without at the same time appearing cold. The radiance of extreme delicacy and brightness of KELLER minimal windows® is the result of special attention to the interaction between glass, (almost) frameless windows, elegant lighting and careful architectural consideration with respect to the room, in accordance with the motto: LIGHT IS MORE. The appealing minimalistic design of KELLER minimal windows® creates bright and flowing effects, for large fixed and opening windows.

KELLER minimal windows® are energy-efficient sliding window systems with highly heat-insulating and well-designed profiles. It is now possible to equip the entire building shell consistently and harmoniously in terms of design in addition to optimising it thermally. Both outwards and inwards.

First-class energy balance in conjunction with the extraordinary aesthetics of aluminium and elegant looks, clever details for climatic protection as well as high energy-saving potentials – these are the arguments that also convinced Hans van Heeswijk.

Architecture: Hans Van Heeswijk Architecten, Amsterdam