WowHaus

Favourite house right now? It has to be the 1970s H.G. Smelt-designed Glazen Huis in Geldrop, Holland, which happens to be for sale.

Thanks to Stefi Orazi for pointing me in the direction of this one, which dates from the early 1970s and sits just outside Eindhoven. As you probably guessed, takes its inspiration from Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House.

Not unusual in itself. I have probably typed that phrase quite a few times over the years. But this one is done with some style and with comes complete with its own architectural personality.

It was actually designed by the architect for his own use just under 50 years ago and is described by the agent as ‘a statement of industrial design’.

The house is effectively made up of two rectangular ‘plates’ – a floor plate and a roof plate. The floor and roof are supported by steel ‘H-columns’ that are placed on either side of the plates.

The bottom plate forms the floor of the ground floor, floating 1.8m above ground level. The identical top plate is the flat roof and consists of steel beams and aerated concrete. That leaves the rest of the house to utilise walls of glass.

On the south side of the house, the frontage is further back, which creates a spacious covered terrace and below the ground floor is a further level of living basement living space and the entrance is raised, reached via industrially-designed stairs.

That’s the technical side, but it doesn’t do justice to the beauty of the finished house, which isn’t always the case when an architect goes down the industrial route.

The beauty of further enhanced by the renovation of the house. The finishes are clean and fresh, but still in keeping with the original house. But beyond that are so many updates and enhancements. Have a read of the agent’s site for a list of those and some peace of mind. Everything from an upgraded roof and solar panels through to the stage pipes and the boiler. Someone has spent a lot of money bringing this one back to its best.

As for the interior, the ground floor has been kept as open as possible (which is helped by the external rather than internal support), with sliding doors used to create separate zones where necessary and grey marble used for the flooring. If you want to get to the lower floor, that 1970s essential of the spiral staircase is on hand, accentuated by a round skylight above. Note that tubes have been built into the round wall around the spiral staircase, in which wine is stored. Clever.

The ground floor layout is made up of a ‘spacious’ hall, which in turn access the kitchen, the living room, a bathroom and two bedrooms with built-in storage on the north side. The living room is on the south side and is connected to the terrace by a large sliding door and separated from the kitchen by a ‘floating’ wall that is kept free of the floor and ceiling.

The kitchen is a modern affair, with white steel cupboards and separated from the dining area by a wooden bar cabinet and a central control panel/cabinet for controlling the lighting and the sun blinds.

Head down the spiral staircase and you access four further bedrooms in the basement area, each with fitted storage. Also down here is a second bathroom, a laundry room, dressing room, a room for ‘technical installations’ and a door to the garden and swimming pool.

That’s right, this one offers plenty outside the main house too. First up, there is a ramp accessing a garage, which is also on the basement level. Away from the house (but not too far away) is that swimming pool, along with a round terrace, a Japanese stream with a gazebo and lawn. The garden is also equipped with a regulated 3-zone irrigation system.

So a lot of house and a lot of style. For a lot of money? Well, less than you might expect when compared to UK prices. This one is up for sale for €645,000, which works out at around £541,000.

Images and details courtesy of Architectuur Makelaar. For more images, details and to make an enquiry, please visit the website.