Architectural sliding panels with nod to surroundings

In the North Brabant village of Liempde, we find a barn house. At the house designed by Wenink Holtkamp Architects, the black roof and facade cladding immediately catch the eye. What was the inspiration? The barns in the area are finished with black wooden slats. The aluminum sliding panels by sunshade specialist Duco are reminiscent of sliding doors of traditional barns.

The barn house in Liempde (Boxtel) manifests itself clearly in the green landscape and forms a unity with the barns in the area. "The house was designed to be lifelong," explains Jan-Peter Wenink of architectural firm Wenink Holtkamp. "By applying an indoor garage, it was possible to keep the barn as archetypal as possible, without outbuildings that would negate the barn typology."

Black cladding

The choice of blackwood cladding was partly inspired by traditional barns finished with black wood slats," Wenink explains. "More recent barns in the area are often finished with corrugated steel sheets. Also, using black stained wood planks as cladding and an anthracite corrugated steel roof establishes a relationship with the existing barn typologies of the immediate area."

Natural daylight

"Creating the right atmosphere is an important starting point for our designs," Wenink continues. "Natural daylight plays a major role in this. Does a room need direct daylight for functional use or does it need filtered light to create an intimate and warm atmosphere? All questions we consider during the design process. To prevent overheating from direct sunlight, we applied sun shading in the form of aluminum sliding panels."

Architectural sliding panels

"The DucoSlide sliding panels with slats provide beautiful filtered light into the home on sunny days," explains Wenink. "In addition, they keep the heat out, resulting in a decrease in cooling load of up to 63 %. At the same time, they allow for maximum privacy. The sliding shutters are designed just like sliding doors that were commonly used in traditional barns. The result? An alternation of textures. Through the alternation of texture and orientation, sunlight is absorbed or reflected in many different ways. A project we look back on with pleasure," Wenink concludes.