The design is a thorough conversion of a country house in Brakel. Behind a representative façade hid an otherwise largely closed house. The design recovers this shell, but punches new openings where necessary, or connects existing holes.

A square cut-out of the ground floor plan is almost completely cleared. The interior walls are demolished and replaced by clunky wooden beams. A completely open side façade retreats from the old one, using the existing wall with its huge new opening as a screen and frame, to bring in light and cast new views of the landscape.

The mansion’s entrance hall falls just outside the new box. It does not need to be isolated, and so can retain its ornamentation and representative character.