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- Sustainable building: Stripe House, Leiden, GAAGA
![](http://cms.floornature.eu/media/photos/38/8340/sustainable_house_reuse_gaaga_nl_view.jpg)
The house sits on a corner plot and despite its compact size, the clients and the designers decided to reserve one quarter of the plot as a garden. This creates a smoother transition from the public street to the private, internal space, as well as acting as a buffer between the house and the neighbouring home.
![](http://cms.floornature.eu/media/photos/38/8340/sustainable_house_reuse_gaaga_nl_garden.jpg)
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The cube-like volume of the building is structured on three levels, with each ascending floor becoming more private: the ground floor accommodates the office and enclosed garden; the open-plan first floor contains the living room and kitchen and two bedrooms and a bathroom are located on the top floor.
![](http://cms.floornature.eu/media/photos/38/8340/sustainable_house_reuse_gaaga_nl_void.jpg)
The large void on the northern façade is the core of the composition, connecting the three floors and bringing daylight right through the home.
![](http://cms.floornature.eu/media/photos/38/8340/sustainable_house_reuse_gaaga_nl_1_detail.jpg)
Stripe House owes its name to the handcrafted nature of the façades and garden walls, where horizontal grooves have been carved into the plaster. This plaster covers the load-bearing walls made from recycled bricks, which were salvaged from factory rejects.
![](http://cms.floornature.eu/media/photos/38/8340/sustainable_house_reuse_gaaga_nl_int1.jpg)
Apart from reusing these bricks, other design choices are also sustainability oriented – the thermal insulation of the roof, windows and façades, the low-temperature floor heating, a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery mechanism and solar panels on the roof.
![](http://cms.floornature.eu/media/photos/38/8340/sustainable_house_reuse_gaaga_nl_int_bedroom.jpg)
Only FSC label timber was used in the interiors and the whole house is free of toxic heavy metals such as lead and zinc.
![](http://cms.floornature.eu/media/photos/38/8340/sustainable_house_reuse_gaaga_nl_window_tree.jpg)
A people-friendly, environmentally aware home that proves how handcrafted work can add value to the building and aid in the recovery of materials.
Architects: GAAGA (www.gaaga.nl)
Team: Esther Stevelink and Arie Bergsma
Location: Leiden, The Netherlands
Realisation: 2010 - 2012
Contractor: Verbeij Bouw, Boskoop.
Plasterwork: Mulder Afbouw - Maarten Mulder
Structural Engineering: IMD Raadgevende Ingenieurs BV, Rotterdam
Energy performance & building physics: GAAGA - Arie Bergsma
Photographs: Marcel van der Burg (www.primabeeld.nl)
Paintings: Marion van Egmond, Emmy Stevelink-Willemsen