Velserbroek, in the distance

Sometimes there are works that, though you can appreciate them and you devoted yourself to them like all of your works (it is not in my interest not to involve myself), somehow remain on the fringes of your career. This is the case of Velserbroek, a small residential building in Holland.

I remember the model, a solid wood volume, chiselled, elliptical (I have hardly ever done anything like it…).

Time passed, construction was slow, and site supervision didn’t go the way I like it to. Other things came up.

By chance, I have some photos. Here there are, to share.

Now, years later, I view it with more indulgence.

Project

At the intersection of two axes, the object twists to continue both energies.

A solid, archaic model, as though found in a Sumerian excavation, explains the volume.

Although the outer surfaces of the object break it down into colours and textures.

The volume’s movement is followed by the shimmer of the surface.

Josep Lluís Mateo

Typology: Housing
Competition: 1st Prize
Project: 1999
Construction: 2001-2002
Surface area: 2500 m2
Location: Velserbroek, Netherlands