Dutch studio Bureau B+B have completed a house on a country estate in the Netherlands with a thatched roof but no eaves. Called Het Entreehuis, the building is the rst of ten dwellings to be built on the site in the Groote Scheere country estate in

Overijssel, commissioned by ASR Vastgoed. The black wooden house has proportions derived from barns in the local area. Like local vernacular buildings the roof is thatched, but the material stops at a border of wood. Vertical and horizontal shutters in
the façade of the house act as sun shades when opened. Each house in the project will be will be designed in response to the conditions of its individual site, so each will be unique but have similar design characteristics.
Bureau B+B designed a vision for “9+1 Dwellings for the Groote Scheere country estate”, Gramsbergen, City of Hardenberg, Overijssel.
Given the current economic climate, owners of country estates in the Netherlands are looking for new ways to sustain themselves. Forests cost money and agriculture is under pressure, yet it is necessary for owners to nd new economic support for
their country estates. The 800ha ‘Groote Scheere’ country estate in the north east of the Netherlands is one such example. Bureau B+B was commissioned by the former Fortis Vastgoed Landelijk (now known as ASR Vastgoed) to create a vision and structure
quality plan for nine open-plan houses, plus one pilot house, varying from 375 m3 – 1000 m3, without a delineated/private garden on the country estate.
The “Groote Scheere” country estate is located at the border of Drenthe and the Overijssel in the Netherlands. In this location, there has always been a coherence between the buildings and nature and it is known for its farm land, village atmosphere and
diverse landscape characteristics.
Unlike other housing estates across the world where development can tend to be ‘cookie-cutter’, the Grote Scheere is unique in that each house is individual and responds speci cally to the site conditions. And although each house is unique, they have
similar characteristics which form a coherent ‘family’, thereby strengthening the recognition of the site. The Grote Scheere distinguishes itself from other country estates by its simple and modest buildings and was designed through linking the locations
of the dwellings, to transitions in the landscape.