Living with the seasons
Do you know that different seasons have different influences on us as a person, on our feelings and mood? For my graduation assignment, I studied interior architecture, I researched the way of living during the seasons and designed a house that could change with the seasons. Now living with the seasons is possible!
In the Netherlands, my home country, and where I studied, the seasons are totally different from each other. Winter; cold and dark (shorter days). Spring; flowers are blooming, and the weather gets better. Summer; sunny and warm and Autumn; windy and wet.
Changing seasons and us as human beings who live in it. We used to live much more with nature, with its energy. Research shows that it is good for people to do this again and live more according to the cycles of the seasons.
But how can we experience the seasons within the limitations of an apartment? It was interesting and exciting to explore further.
I found that to live with the seasons, the entire floor plan of the apartment should be editable. After all, in the winter you want more that cosy, compact and warm interior, while in the summer you enjoy more openness, space and contact with the outside.
I have designed a house where this is possible, that you can move with it and that you can live more with the seasons. In the summer a lot of contact with the outside, and in the winter a nice retract to a warm core.
For us as humans, to live better with the energy of nature, it is enough to completely overhaul the interior twice a year and just finetune it in between.
It is possible in this design to change the whole apartment within one hour by one person.
The seasons reflected in the apartment
Winter: In the colder winter period, we want to retract more. More inside, more cocooning.
The use of curtains and low walls creates cosy spaces, giving you an intimate atmosphere.
In the middle, I have located a warm core where the kitchen and dining space are central. Here it is nice to come together while it is dark early in the evening.
The seating area and workplace are placed on the sunny side of the house to catch all winter sun.
The warm and homely feeling is enhanced by light, colour and sound. The arrangement and choice of certain materials give a warmer tone to the room, enhancing the more intimate winter atmosphere. Optionally extra elements can be added such as carpet and plaids to bring more soft, warm materials into the interior in the winter.
Summer: On the long warm summer days, you can enjoy the open space and the light that shines from the front to the back of your house. The low walls are placed more on the side, and the curtains are gone.
In the evening you can open the front and back doors to let fresh evening air blow through the house.
In the summer I like outdoor cooking. By placing the kitchen almost on the balcony, you can cook outside and enjoy your meal in the sunshine.
In this way, you can bring more “inside” out and bring the “outside” more in.
A free and open feeling is created, this feeling is enhanced by the sound. Which makes the space sound larger and spacious through the openness and the materials. This allows the openness to be experienced in the ultimate.
