The last month of the year has started and with that we share the last stories from our anniversary series. This time Villa Havertong: the very first villa that Lyongo designed with his architectural firm, which he founded in 1999 on St. Maarten.
In the mountain districts of St. Maarten is Villa Havertong. A house that was designed in 2008. You can reach the villa via a winding drive up through hairpin bends. These zigzag lines have been continued in the design of the house itself so that the shape of the building moves smoothly through the landscape.
Blending in
It is a striking sight when you first see the villa. It stands above the line of sight on a steep slope. We wanted the house not to clash with its lush green surroundings. We therefore executed the facade in earthy tones, so that the house offers a harmonious appearance.
The roof design consists of two interlocking saddle roofs, which are not only functional but together create a dynamic visual effect. As you can see in one of the videos our design is different compared to other housing projects on the mountains roads. The drone shots that we took are from May 2024. We were happy to see that – 16 years later – the design still stands out among the many houses that have been added to this neighborhood over the years.
Inside and outside
An important part of our design was to make the villa blend in completely and become part of the mountain range of the island. That is why we have made the interior fit with the surroundings. The villa consists of two living floors with three spacious bedrooms. We have distributed these rooms over the surface in such a way that the house plays along with the differents heights of this hilly landscape.
Despite the steep slope, we have created a strong interaction between indoor and outdoor spaces. The garden seamlessly connects to the living floors, and in turn, it offers a green extension of the interior spaces to the surrounding landscape.
Challenges
The construction on this site was a technical challenge. But before we could even start with the construction we had to built the driveway, in order to get access to the site. The steep mountainside also required special construction techniques. We’ve made high columns, in two different types, to support the house and bridge the height difference. This way the villa is firmly anchored and at the same time floats above the landscape.
