Architect: Spanjers Architect
Location: Westkapelle, The Netherlands
Client: Fletcher Hotel Group
Footprint: 370 sqm
Project year: 2009
Photographs: Spanjers Architect

On the beach of Westkapelle, a small coastal town in the Netherlands, recently a new beachclub called ‘Zuiderduin’ has opened its doors for the public.

A building with a maximum outdoor floor surface where people can enjoy a snack, a drink and a beautiful view on the beach and the North Sea, when they go to the coast during the warm and sunny days. This is the starting point on which the concept of the design has been based.

However, the small dimensions of the site limited the maximum surface of the outdoor terrace. To deal with this the terrace has been ‘fold up’, which results in two terraces. One terrace at the lower level, where also the bar is located and a lounge-deck for sunbathing at the upper level with a very nice view in all directions.

The concept of the ‘fold up’ terrace gives the building a very obvious and recognizable appearance. This main architectural concept has been applied on all scale levels of the building.

The terrace has been covered on all sides with the same timber cladding. By using only this one material the building appears as one thick U-shaped slice. The stairs, which provide access to both the terraces, are also designed as part of this slice that has been folded out of it.

By ‘folding’ the terrace, in a natural way an indoor space is created in between. This indoor space is used as a restaurant and a bar. The kitchen, snack corner and facilitairy spaces can also be found between the two terraces.