Residential ArchitectureFeatured Houses

The Mirror House

Architects & Firms

Johan Selbing / Anouk Vogel

Almere, The Netherlands

Project Size: 1,290 square feet

Program: Architect Johan Selbing and landscape architect Anouk Vogel conceived the Mirror House in 2006 as a winning entry in a competition to design experimental single-family houses for a new housing development. The brief for the competition, titled De Eenvoud ('simplicity'), called for designs with a strong relationship to the site. After winning the competition, the designers then had to find a client themselves, and construction began in 2012.

Location: The house is located in a clearing in the Noorderplassen-West forest outside Almere, a city east of Amsterdam known for experimental residential projects.

Solution: The facade of the single-story, steel-frame rectangular house is sheathed in mirrored glass, with bands of reflective aluminum composite trim running along the roof line and base. The entry, tucked away from the street on the north side, is indistinguishable from the rest of the facade'except for a door handle.

The compact interior, with a home office and open dining and living area on the north side and bedrooms on the south, is lined with birch multiplex panels, a warm contrast to the more severe glass exterior. Construction cost $344,000 and was completed in June 2013.

Architect:
Johan Selbing Architecture / Anouk Vogel landscape architecture
Nieuwpoortkade 2a
1055 RX Amsterdam
The Netherlands