Otterlo, The Netherlands
The new Park Pavilion in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in the Netherlands offers visitors a warm welcome and adds an extra dimension to their visit.
The project was recently awarded with a 2020 International Architecture Award from The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum.
The pavilion has a restaurant, a park shop, and accommodates education and reception areas.
In the elongated and curved central space, with a crackling fire at one end on cold days, visitors can admire the light projections on the vaulted ceiling.
The new building is a striking landmark in the middle of the forest and is an ideal base for a day out in the Hoge Veluwe.
A key point of departure for the architects was that the entire building must form an integral part of the landscape and the park experience.
Country house in an open space in the forest The Hoge Veluwe National Park is not only a 5,400-hectare nature reserve but also the home of the Sint Hubertus hunting lodge (Berlage) and the Kröller-Müller Museum (Van de Velde/Quist).
Visitors can enjoy nature, art, and architecture.
The Park Pavilion is set in an open space in the heart of the park and is reminiscent of a country house.
When approached from the narrow end, the building’s silhouette with its distinctive double roof can be seen between the trees from a long-distance away.
Behind this, the building evolves into an unusual, curved form, with a more intimate scale.
A large glass facade over the entire length presents a magnificent view of the splendid surroundings, and, due to its low eaves, it is here that the large building is modest and on a human scale.
The central space extends along the glass wall, a large lounge with a stylish, central staircase and, in the end, the large fire-place.
Here, under the imposing, arched ceiling, are the information desk, the park gift shop, and the restaurant. Interior enhances perception
Like the building itself, the interior forms an alliance with the surrounding landscape. Visitors entering the pavilion will be surprised at how the glass wall presents an ever-changing view of the Veluwe.
Above their heads, the vaulted ceiling extends over the entire length of the space. Nine chandeliers project a magical pattern on the ceiling.
This light installation is based on an algorithm of the sun shining through the leaves, an example of biophilic design.
The shadow patterns draw nature into the building and form a connection between the physical and the virtual world.
“A place where you feel at home,” that was an important point of departure for the interior design.
The architects responded by designing intimate recesses in the glass facade and a large fireplace with comfortable chairs.
The free-standing interior elements reflect the surrounding nature, for example, by using rough, but rich, natural materials such as leather and oak, materials that only increase in beauty with the passing of time and even enhance the building’s distinguished character.
Each of the specially designed for the wooden restaurant benches consists of three segments that can be assembled in different configurations.
The construction of the pavilion is a milestone in the large-scale renovation of the park’s central area. The events site, recreation area, access roads, cycle tracks, and car park have all been reorganized.
Project: Park Pavilion- The Hoge Veluwe National Park
Architects: De Zwarte Hond
Associate Architects: Monadnock
Client: Stichting Het Nationale Park De Hoge Veluwe
General Contractor: Rots Bouw
Photographer: Stijn Bollaert