CLUSTERED CABINS FLOAT ON DUTCH NATURE RESERVE

Young student collective from the Architectural Association (London), LCDQ, take on a boggy challenge of building a holiday home on an island quagmire. Arismeer is conceived as a jaunt outside city life away from the urban bustle of Amsterdam. The project is a clustered composition of small cabins floating on a raised deck that provides the datum for the discrete architecture above. 

Situated on a solitary island in a polder - lowland, reclaimed from a body of water - Arismeer is about half an hour’s drive north of Amsterdam. The lake, Arismeer, lies to the south of the island, accessible only via boat, or skating when the ice is thick. With a perimeter surrounded by trees and dense flora, the island appears as a mound of foliage, towering above the flat landscape, concealing its contents from the outside world. Designated as one of the most protected nature reserves in Europe - Natura 2000 - it is an incredibly rare opportunity to build at Arismeer. Made only possible due to many municipality meetings and the pledge to build with low environmentally impactful approaches.

The client, a family from Amsterdam, understood the local environment as one of the most important aspects to consider in the design process. The home, to be used as a retreat to a more organic environment at any time of the year, must feel in conversation with the local landscape, and encourage exposure to nature. 

Arismeer, therefor responds to these needs by being manifest as a small collection of hut-like forms, bound together by one continuous deck, raised from the island surface as an open living area, partially covered. This is imperative since the island substrate becomes quite unstable in wet weather. LCDQ simultaneously provide a sheltered accommodation for smaller animals to thrive below-deck. 

Arismeer mimics the immediate landscape of the island. Existing as a flat plane, large angular forms emerge, who’s skillion pitched roof-scape reflects that of a hill, much like the mound of trees in the polder. This ‘hill’ is cut into and fragmented, taking inspiration from Ryue Nishizawa’s Moriyama House, and each room is given an independent structure. LCDQ therefor force the inhabitant to go outside and experience the immediate environment, even just for a moment, if they wish to inhabit the project.

The home’s daily rhythms are dictated by natural light by piercing the main kitchen building with two tables, who’s duty is to provide culinary and dining facilities. In the east, the family breakfast outside with the morning sun and in the west, dinner, with the sunset beaming through the openable window, creating an interior / exterior connection. The tables are aligned as a visual tie and therefor read as one continuous form passing through the building, bisecting the interior. 

The green-roof’s orientation to the walls is rotated by 30 degrees, thus forming large triangular cantilevers helping to shade the tables below. This roof, a thick insulating blanket, works in collaboration with a wholly glazed south-facing facade allowing as much winter light into the property as possible. Passive cross-cooling is achieved by placing openable windows at opposite ends of the buildings and one high up on the mezzanine. 

Openness to the elements and a proximity to wildlife is at the forefront of Arismeer. Puncturing the decking in a number of locations allows trees to be grown ‘within’ the building, whilst a shapely garden flows into the central ‘courtyard’ which is protected by the cluster from cold strong winds. The planting bridges the height difference between deck and island level, whilst being observed by inward-looking rooms with composed vistas to the extensive landscape beyond. A middle and upper deck gift the inhabitant 360 degree views across the polder, whilst more cosy and intimate experiences are contained lower down. A comforting mezzanine allows for contemplative observation or bird watching. 

Arismeer is a unique project, even just for its logistical peculiarities. All materials had to be transported to the island via multiple barge trips and, amongst many other challenges, drilling the light-touch steel screw-pile foundations through the 2 meter thick island into solid ground, 16 meters below, was a feat in its own right. The client had the time during the pandemic to serve as project manager. From unloading the timber cladding, to laying service piping through the landscape, varnishing the deck, to sourcing most of the building materials, the client was heavily involved in the construction process.

Ultimately, Arismeer is a true collaboration and is the unique output of four very different young minds working closely with an ambitious client who wanted to create an island haven where their family could escape the woes of metropolitan life.