Park Extension Vijversburg


Type: Visitor center, renovation of historical mansion
Client: Stichting Op Toutenburg
Location: Tytsjerk, The Netherlands
Collaborating Architect: Junya Ishigami & Associates
Engineering: ABT, Jun Sato
Management: Mart Lenis
Contractor: Jurriens Noord BV + Friso BouwgroepPark Vijversburg, situated in the north of the Netherlands, is an 18th century estate that has been open to the public since 1892. Throughout the year, the park hosts many events such as international art exhibitions, musical performances, church services and excursions.

In 2011 Studio Maks won the competition for a new visitor center together with Junya Ishigami & Associates. To accommodate the increasing number of visitors, the client asked for a new extension to the historical villa to be used as a meeting and exhibition space. The old villa and surrounding park were to be treated with the utmost care, as they are both national monuments. We wanted to make a most subtle intervention. Although the pavilion is an architectural project, it was designed and imagined as part of the landscape. The design consists of three lines, thin glass facades that stretch into the park and follow the existing natural elements: a pond, a tree line and the villa garden. These three elevations reflect the natural surroundings and make the pavilion and landscape blend into one another.
The central space lies partially sunken into the landscape; softly undulating slopes guide visitors from the large scale exterior of the park into the heart of the building, one meter below ground level. It thus reduces the impact of the building on its surroundings, gives the interior a certain intimacy and provides visitors with another perspective on the landscape.

In order to create fully unobstructed views towards the surroundings, the use of additional structural elements, such as columns and walls, were avoided. Instead the insulated and extra clear glass walls themselves carry the roof. The triangular shape helps to avoid using transverse walls while maintaining a free span of fifteen meter. This innovative structural glazing design was developed in collaboration with ABT and Jun Sato structural engineers.