Historic orangery goes full circle

Around 1880 a beautiful orangery was built that originally belonged to the Schoonoord Estate in the Dutch town of Baarn. 140 years later the new owners took it upon themselves to restore and extend the building.

Restored and expanded

When the current residents bought the structure in 2021, it had clearly been affected by the ravages of time. It had a leaking roof and cracks in the façade and was in desperate need of a carefully executed renovation. Together with architect Martin Groenesteijn, the residents came up with a plan for the restoration and expansion.

A previously added annex was demolished and replaced by a more contemporary version, which was cladded with ClickBrick façade bricks. The new addition was connected to the existing building by a circulation space of almost five-metre-tall glass façades. The former orangery now houses the living room and the new building features bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and dining room.

Recommended quality

Architect Martin Groenesteijn: “Elements of the original garden layout can still be seen here and there in the neighbourhood, but nothing remains of the physical relationship between the main house of the estate and the orangery. But a beautiful residential building has been built in its place.

Sustainable building and the application of innovations have played an important role in my work for years. The choice for ClickBrick Blauwrood Genuanceerd HV was inspired by a family member of the clients, who had used ClickBrick when building his house. He had good experiences with it.”

Circularity at its finest

Martin Groenesteijn: “ClickBrick makes projects more sustainable because you have less waste, and all components are reusable. Aesthetics are an important part of design because they determine the appearance of a building, but there are many more parameters that an architect takes into account. Think, for example, of the technical and planning aspects.”

The renovation and new construction were carried out by contractor Gerard van Geresteijn: “It was the first time we had worked with ClickBrick, so it took some getting used to; a bit of puzzling and trying things out. The customer is happy and satisfied with it and that is what matters to us in the end, of course.” The architect also looks back on the project with satisfaction: “The new façades turned out exactly as I had hoped. I am very happy with the beautiful end result.”