01 · Challenge
A dark living room in The Hague
A canal-side property in The Hague's old city centre had a ground-floor living room that caught little daylight due to its deep layout and narrow facade. The owner wanted a bay window on the front facade as a solution. A bay window on the street side always falls within the sightline of the aesthetic review committee: the facade of the building, a late-19th-century terraced house, has a protected classical composition with a projecting bay, decorative cornice and segmental arch windows that could not be disturbed.
02 · Our approach
Classic details, modern execution
We designed a bay window that connects to the classicist facade style of the building: a three-sided bay window with a hipped roof, decorative mouldings and window frames in the same proportions as the existing windows. The structure is in steel with a brick finish matched colour for colour to the existing facade. The connection to the existing floor structure required a precise calculation because the foundations of the canal house are shallow.
03 · Result
Passed aesthetic review first time, living room transformed
The design was approved in a single meeting by the aesthetic review committee of the municipality of Den Haag. The building permit was granted within 8 weeks. The 4 m² bay window adds little floor area, but completely transforms the living room: significantly more natural light now enters and the room feels larger due to the extra depth. The owner uses the window sill level as a reading spot overlooking the street.