Design principles

The architectural design of the villa consists of various interlocking volumes with closed façade surfaces that give the large villa a distinguished and monumental appearance. That was precisely the intention. These aesthetic surfaces were inspired by the Kolumba Museum in Cologne. Unique long-format bricks were produced especially for the museum, enabling a delicate interplay of lines in the façade. The designer and client agreed on this look. It had to be a built sculpture.

Due to the plasticity of the design, it was important to choose a light façade colour. 'We were looking for a colour that would enhance the image of interlocking volumes through the interplay of shadows. It is important that one mass can cast a shadow on another, as this creates more depth through plasticity. That dark shadow is best highlighted on a light-coloured facing brick,' says Feron.

The second starting point was to connect the design to the location where the villa would be built. Inspiration for the local connection was drawn from the Limburg landscape. Nearby is the highest plateau in the Netherlands, completely eroded by streams and rivers into the characteristic hilly landscape; here you will find the unique Kunradersteen. It is named after the village in South Limburg where it was frequently quarried. It is a type of marl or limestone, but extremely hard. (Part of the vault ribs of St. Servatius Church in Maastricht were constructed using this material). The colour varies from light to dark beige, white-yellow, with grey and dark tones. The new material had to be a translation of this beautiful local Kunrader stone.

Photo: MBI presents Mark Feron (ARCHITECTENZAAK) with the GeoStylistix Limestone Yellow “award” as a memento of this special project and pleasant collaboration. The unique colour was custom-produced by MBI in close collaboration with the architect.

Choice of GeoStylistix facing bricks

The client eventually found a facing brick that could be customised. The elongated, slim GeoStylisyix facing brick from MBI with a natural stone look. This facing brick fitted perfectly into the design in terms of its elongated shape, dimensional stability and look. Everyone involved quickly agreed on this, not least because they had visited various references using this brick. However, there was a need for a bit of customisation for the light colour, which had to resemble Kunrader stone. The fact that this could be customised was considered very special. 'Every architect wants to work with their own stamp. The freedom to influence the recipe for the final colour with a handful of sand from the quarry is phenomenal,' says Mark.

Limestone Yellow

“It was very brave of MBI to embark on this adventure and make sample panels until the colour was perfect.” For this customisation, an MBI consultant had around twenty samples made to achieve the perfect colour. This was ultimately, very appropriately, christened “Limestone Yellow”. According to Mark, customised GeoStylistix fits in perfectly with the ultimate designer philosophy: 'The material is modern, almost abstract, but the colour makes it very recognisable and gives it a local quality. This material lends itself to connecting with users and the environment. There was also an immediate connection with local residents.'

Limestone Yellow as a project colour

ARCHITECTENZAAK is very proud of the result and is convincing more people and parties of the merits of its own colour. It now bears the quality mark: “Colour Tailored By ARCHITECTENZAAK”. A new project is in the pipeline. The municipality of Beek is going to build a Broad Social Facility, in which the many different users will be connected by a uniform façade material. Not coincidentally, this will also be in the colour Limestone Yellow. Mark Feron: “There were several rounds of budget cuts, during which all materials were critically examined. But the facing brick and the colour were always advocated as necessary by the municipality and were never up for discussion. That is a great compliment”.