NedZink NATUREL, the most attractive material as it ages over time

Titanium zinc

In Boven-Leeuwen, in Land van Maas en Waal, stands a restored manor farmhouse on a plot with rural characteristics inherent to the river landscape As part of the complete restoration and renovation plan, the discreet 'kindhuis' (children's house) was created within the historic façades of the old manor farmhouse’s rear annex: a steel construction with a ventilating timber frame structure covered entirely in vertical NedZink NATUREL sheets. The sleek, narrow NedZink NATUREL sheets, each 300 millimetres wide, were meticulously positioned by zinc master Walter Verhoeven from Nieuwkuijk and run seamlessly from the roof to the façade. In the historic façades of the rear annex razor-sharp holes were made in various dimensions, allowing the children's house to be experienced as a secondary structure. Since there is no gutter, rainwater is collected at the bottom of the children’s house façade in a new gutter of recycled, glazed feeding troughs originating from the farm's old barns that were pulled down. "What is immediately striking is the five-degree sloping apex of the zinc roof in the direction of the historic firewall with its characteristic chimney channels. Reversing the living arrangements has created an attractive spatial connection with the characteristic bocage at the back, as a result of the huge window in the south-facing façade," explains designer and architect Otto van Dijk of Architektenburo Otto van Dijk from Horssen. "Throughout our architect firm's forty-year history we have always been a passionate advocate of durable, bright rolled zinc such as NedZink NATUREL for covering roofs and façades. Simply because we consider natural zinc to be the ultimate appealing material as it ages over time. We believe that the nuanced patina that develops naturally looks more 'lived' and vibrant than the uniform patina of patinated zinc. Consequently it is perfectly consistent with the field of tension between old and new.