House M - Marc Koehler Architects

House M is a contemporary response to a changing cultural environment in the Netherlands which is characterized by a growing demand for monumentality, solidity and enclosure as dominant aesthetic values to be expressed in the architecture of the private house.

In response to this, we positioned the house as it were a wall between front and back garden, separating a very introverted street façade from a very extroverted garden façade (on the back of the house). The kitchen, dining room, living room and office space are located on the ground floor in a continuous space which opens-up towards the sunny back garden. On the second floor, three intimate bedrooms, storage-space and bathroom are located.

On the street side, the house appears rather closed and monolithic. Two volumes reach out from this mass in an expressive way, providing the entrance and the garage space, defining the sculptural monumental image of the house as seen from the street, creating an interesting visual dialogue with the neighboring houses built in neo-classical style.