The eye-catching structure is located on a site that boasts over 200 summer homes nestled among rolling dunes. New local building regulations forbade new houses from being built in the area, and existing properties from having fences.

A large family approached Amsterdam practice Borren Staalenhoef Architecten for help with the renovation of their Vlieland holiday property, which was built in the 1970s.

In order to meet the new regulations, the best option was to demolish the property and rebuild it to create a more spacious and efficient home that better connects with its surroundings.

Located on the top of a sand dune, the house is dominated by a high roof that was inspired by the De Waard Albatross tent, a popular pyramidal camping tent designed by Dutch tent makers De Waard in 1961.

The triangulated, beveled roof structre is constructed like an upside-down ship hull with 3.15-inch laminated pinewood slats.

A basement, ground level, and attic make up the home's three floors. To maintain a sense of privacy without resorting to a fence, the concrete basement, where the bedrooms are located, is sunk beneath the dunes, with a covered entrance portico that leads out to the landscape.

When looked at from the ground level, the basement is completed hidden.

A prefabricated wooden framework was built and mounted on top of the concrete base within two days, serving as the skeleton for the ground and attic levels.

The ground floor—where the communal areas like the living lounge, kitchen, and covered terrace are located—are fitted on all sides with glass to maximize views.

Viewed from the outside, the attic floor, which holds additional bedrooms and bathrooms, is also completely hidden.

This attic level is suspended within the roof with the steel framework of the central staircase as its main means of support.

The gutter line of the roof varies in height, giving it the appearance of a delicate, lightweight shelter on the ground floor. The centrally located stairways open up towards the basement and grow narrow towards the attic.

Project Credits:

Architecture and interior design: Borren Staalenhoef Architecten

Builders: Bouwbedrijf Dick Visser and Derix Laminated Timber

Civil engineer: Adviesbureau ABT Luning

Installations: Van der Weerd Installatietechniek

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A Tent-Shaped Home in the Netherlands Crouches Between Natural Dunes