Nooitgedacht

An old derelict farmhouse near the centre of Rotterdam, came on the market as a building site. Van Leer recognized the quality of the existing building and made a plan to restore the old building, including an expansion that would bring back the original volume of the house. De rear part of the farm had collapsed in the 1950’s. The old house has been given a new foundation and has been restored. On the front the building hasn’t changed, but behind the old building is an extension in radical new materials. On the inside and the outside materials have been chosen that have the same rustic quality and colour tones as the original building but are al in contrast: the old building is masonry, painted wood and roof tiles, the new part is untreated wood, slate and steel. The extension is covered with an open wood cladding, the cladding is continued on the windows in the form of shutters with the same wood and the same rhythm, thus rendering an abstract continuous form. The extension is a “shadow” of the old building.