Heiloo is a small municipality right next to Alkmaar, characterized by greenery and traditional architecture. Within this context, a competition was held in 2006 for the redesign of an existing villa. The client preferred a sleek rectangular house in the shape of a box. However, due to the strict zoning laws in Heiloo, it was only possible to build a single storey house with a pitched roof. In addition, the zoning requirements allow a maximum height of 3.5 meters for the eaves. To get an idea of a design that would blend with the environment, we studied the buildings in the vicinity. Most of the houses boast the traditional pitched roof with a few variations.

​

The building plan requires a house of approximately 500 m². The maximum building area, however, is 15m x 20m, meaning that it is not possible to fit the entire surface area on the ground floor. As a result, a large part of the house is placed in the basement. The basement contains a guest room, a fitness room and a swimming pool. In order to supply the guest room with natural light, a large patio has been placed in the ground level adjacent to the glass exterior, which doubles the visual space of the guest room and gives the impression of being at ground level. The pool is located partly inside and partly outside the house, extending to the back of the garden. In the winter, the pool can be divided by an electrical sliding glass wall, that separates the inside from the outside.

​

The main entrance to the house is located on the ground floor, accessible via a bridge that crosses the patio diagonally. Behind the entrance, on the garden side are the living room and kitchen, and rising to the street side are the two bedrooms.

​

Much like Project X and Zilverparkkade, the design is fitted with a pattern on the facade. The pattern applied to the previous two wraps the building horizontally around the facade. Villa Brouwer however, has a three-dimensional structure that fits the entire box. The facade's polyester concrete panels are shaped like leaves and bond together like a puzzle. Since the entire house is slightly twisted, the individual leaves stick out and become visible.