{"id":427553,"date":"2026-01-24T18:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T18:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/427553\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T18:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T18:46:11","slug":"spacematter-nestles-timber-housing-blocks-into-a-dutch-woodland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/427553\/","title":{"rendered":"Space&Matter nestles timber housing blocks into a Dutch woodland"},"content":{"rendered":"

A series of “forest rooms” draws pockets of the surrounding woodland into Common Woods, a housing<\/a> development in Amersfoort, the Netherlands<\/a>, by Dutch studio Space&Matter.<\/p>\n

Located at the edge of the historic Nimmerdor forest, the “nature-inclusive neighbourhood” provides 56 homes across 15 rectilinear blocks, ranging from apartments to semi-detached houses and independent villas.<\/p>\n

Space&Matter<\/a> wanted to give residents of Common Woods the feeling of “living in a forest”, which informed an irregular cluster of blocks united by winding paths and open gardens.<\/p>\n

\"AerialSpace&Matter has created a timber housing development in a Dutch woodland<\/p>\n

“The masterplan was not based on a rigid grid but is organised as a cluster of buildings set within generous open spaces,” the studio’s art director, Bas van Bentum told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“Invisible plot boundaries allow the forest to flow deep into the plan, forming ‘boskamers’ – intimate forest rooms around the buildings,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“The central square forms the heart of the neighbourhood \u2013 a shared space where residents meet, engage in everyday communal life and grow herbs in the greenhouse.”<\/p>\n

\"DutchThe development offers 56 homes across 15 rectilinear blocks<\/p>\n

Constructed primarily from cross laminated timber (CLT), each block was based on a modular design that created what the studio calls a “family of buildings” that appear unified but distinct.<\/p>\n

Where the development faces a nearby road these blocks have a more formal, stepped rhythm, while overlooking the internal paths and gardens they are animated with balconies and windows that frame forest views.<\/p>\n

\"CommonThere is a series of outdoor spaces<\/p>\n

Full-height sliding glass doors connect the blocks to the surrounding landscape, while the apartments are connected by external steel decks that provide an external space for each level.<\/p>\n

For the “forest rooms”, Space&Matter worked with local studio DELVA Landscape Architecture, which introduced a series of lawns, planters and seating areas as well as the central greenhouse.<\/p>\n

\"Black-woodThe apartments are connected by external steel decks<\/p>\n

“Terraces and balconies animate the inner streetscape, creating layered public-to-private thresholds that activate and support communal life within the neighbourhood,” said Van Bentum.<\/p>\n

“By breaking down the building volumes, the project integrates compact villas and apartment blocks into the surrounding urban fabric, creating a sensitive transition between the forest and adjacent neighbourhoods,” he added.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

White Arkitekter references farmsteads for wooden Hoofddorp housing\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The exteriors of the blocks have been finished in a mixture of “earthy reds, smoky blacks and sandy beiges”, which were intended to reference the bark and soil of woodland while contrasting the green of the surrounding tree canopies.<\/p>\n

Inside, exposed timber and white-painted walls create light and airy spaces, with the larger homes featuring double-height living and dining spaces within their fully-glazed corners.<\/p>\n

\"HomeThe project was primarily from cross-laminated timber<\/p>\n

Based in Amsterdam, Space&Matter was founded in 2009 by Sascha Glasl, Tjeerd Haccou and Marthijn Pool.<\/p>\n

The studio has recently been working alongside White Arkitekter, SeArch and Atlas Architects on The Erven,<\/a> a development of 519 homes in Hoofddorp that is informed by traditional Dutch farm buildings.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Riccardo De Vecchi<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A series of “forest rooms” draws pockets of the surrounding woodland into Common Woods, a housing development in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,80480,229,88,2053,6802,4728,64879,64880,68107],"class_list":{"0":"post-427553","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-cross-laminated-timber","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-housing","15":"tag-netherlands","16":"tag-residential-architecture-and-interiors","17":"tag-sectionall","18":"tag-sectionarchitecture","19":"tag-wooden-architecture"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}