A significant portion of the Dutch population dreams of a 'housing with a plot': a spacious ground-level home with a garden in a scenic setting. However, this ideal must also be conveniently accessible by car, with essential amenities like a supermarket and a primary school nearby. In a densely populated country like the Netherlands, where intensive use of limited land is necessary, this ideal is challenging to achieve. As a result, many Dutch people live in a compromise: a row house in a suburb. But does this housing type meet the ideal image of living in the countryside? While the suburb was originally created to escape the city and live closer to the surrounding landscape, it is now often seen as a threat to the landscape.

There is a significant challenge for the future to create residential (and work) environments that add landscape and ecological value rather than diminish it. We aim to develop housing, residential buildings, and neighborhoods that are not built in the landscape but with the landscape. This involves integrating landscape development with residential construction, transforming red into green.

Can we design a residential landscape with affordable homes at a similar density to an average suburb but with a completely different spatial and landscape experience? A living and working landscape that offers a more beautiful, healthier, more sustainable, and more social living environment? A place where residents can enjoy the landscape daily without needing to drive. An environment that encourages movement (walking, cycling, jogging) while also providing space for tranquility and contemplation. Where children can play freely in a landscape rich with opportunities for play and adventure.

This design proposal for a residential landscape demonstrates how density can be combined with a scenic living environment. The landscape is effectively lifted to create space for homes. These homes feature green roofs that visually blend into the surrounding landscape between the buildings.

All homes have views of the surrounding landscape, which is partially shaped by the homes themselves. The landscape envelopes accommodate various typologies, from large, multi-story family homes in the center to apartments on the edges. All homes directly connect to the surrounding landscape and feature a decking area. The homes are accessible via walking and cycling paths, as well as semi-paved roads for cars.

The fundamental principle is that the buildings add ecological value to the environment. The roofs will support local grasses, herbs, and edible plants, rooting in a few decimeters of soil. The character of the buildings, like the surrounding environment, will change with the seasons.

The buildings are designed to minimize energy consumption. The glass facades are equipped with state-of-the-art solar heat-resistant glass, eliminating the need for (view-blocking) sunshades. The green roof acts as additional insulation and a thermal buffer. Heat and cold are exchanged with the groundwater through a low-temperature floor system.

Rainwater collected from the roof is stored in the outdoor space and used for flushing toilets. The rooftop planting also functions as biological water purification for sanitary wastewater, which can then be reused as greywater.

The building framework is constructed from cross-laminated timber (CLT), which provides a tactile quality and promotes a pleasant indoor climate. Using solid wood construction sequesters CO2 for potentially several hundred years.

The homes can be fully prefabricated and quickly assembled on-site, significantly reducing construction time. This also offers flexibility for future changes in preferences, as wood is easily modifiable.