Follies
At Buitenplaats Koningsweg, eleven extraordinary, nature-inclusive recreational cabins were realized in 2023 — the follies. Places to stay that astonish and intrigue, play tricks on both people and animals, while blending surprisingly well into the Veluwe landscape. Previously, this site among the tall trees was occupied by 1980s military barracks, parking lots, and standard landscaped areas. Now a Veluwe landscape undulates here as if it had always been this way.
This new layer, added as a permanent cultural manifestation to the Veluwe landscape of the Buitenplaats, was already part of the very first ideas we developed for the site back in 2008. Just as the Germans did during World War II on these former barracks grounds, we chose the theme of “camouflage.” Not to deceive the enemy this time, but to trick and surprise both people and animals.
Just like the Germans in World War II, we chose the theme of “camouflage”
In 2021, together with KWP, we launched an open competition based on the locations we selected and the visual quality plan we had developed for them. Around 75 combinations of private clients and architects registered. Together with fellow jury members Renkse van der Stoep (Roffaa), Hans van Loon (Municipality of Arnhem), and Arnold Sprakel (KondorWessels Projecten), we selected a series of extraordinary, alienating objects in which both people and animals can relax.
