Christopher Dyvik: “We work strongly from the context”

The designs of Dyvik Kahlen Architects, which at first glance appear elementary, are extremely well thought out and offer a surprisingly rich spatial experience. The firm works throughout Europe and has just completed its designs for the Klingelbeek Estate in Arnhem, a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border, and is now working on ‘De Nieuwe Stad’ (The New City) in Amersfoort, a city in the middle of the country. On Friday 31 October 2025 at 1 p.m., architect Christopher Dyvik will give a lecture at ARCHITECT@WORK in De Kromhouthal in Amsterdam-Noord. ‘Architectenweb’ spoke with him in advance.

"I think the reason we like to design from the context and have developed a great sensitivity for it is because I grew up in Norway and my partner in Germany. We started our firm in London and now work from Porto in Portugal and Palma in Spain. Both in London and now in Porto and Palma, we are at the same time at home and strangers. I think that has given us a different insight into the context in which we operate and how we respond to it. Perhaps this is what sets us apart: it allows us to look at the context with a fresh perspective, without prejudice."

“The challenge at Landgoed Klingelbeek in Arnhem was to add a few residential buildings to the existing park landscape, without dividing the landscape into separate plots. In other words, we wanted to keep the landscape as a whole, so that residents and visitors can walk around freely,” explains Christopher Dyvik. “That's why we grouped the different types of homes into fairly basic volumes, with the outdoor spaces not protruding but incorporated into those volumes in the form of patios and loggias. The boundary between buildings and nature, between private and public, is clearly defined. That works very well there.”

"The old country house, having a central place on the estate, has an enfilade of spacious rooms with high ceilings, making it very flexible in its use and possibilities. We took these qualities as the basis for the design of the residential buildings around it. We avoided corridors as much as possible and made the spaces less functional. The floor plans were deliberately simplified to allow for flexible use."

“The garden on the estate has always had different sections, such as a vegetable garden, a large pond and the square in front of the country house. We now translated this into different living environments. On the east side, the houses are located around the old vegetable garden, in the middle are the houses on either side of the country house, and on the west side, among the trees, is a slightly higher, solitary building. We wanted to give this ‘cube’ four equal facades, studying how you would feel like you were really living in the garden from your flat. By providing the residential building with a spacious, wraparound balcony, every living space opens onto it, allowing you to move from one room to the next via the outdoor space. In our opinion, this has created a kind of hybrid between a house with a garden and an apartment."

Parking not hidden

The residential building is slightly raised above ground level, so that parking is possible underneath: “We didn't want to hide the parking here. This solution ensures that when you get in or out of your car, you are still surrounded by nature. That's a quality you rarely see in a car park.”

The cube-shaped apartment building and how it fits into the landscape has become a reference point within the Dutch architectural sector for how densification and nature development can go hand in hand. Christopher is also enthusiastic about it and attributes its success to the simplicity of the architecture, the generous spaciousness of the homes and the rich nature surrounding them. The project is also a benchmark for them, but he emphasises that the landscape in Arnhem is unique. “The combination of living and nature that you see here is certainly something we strive for in other projects. However, ultimately each location requires its own unique solution.”

Dyvik Kahlen Architects has also designed a remarkable villa at the heart of the Klingelbeek Estate, although you wouldn't know it from the outside: "The villa has an almost Palladian structure with nine equal spaces, the middle one of which has been turned into a patio. Thanks to a split-level layout and short staircases around the patio, moving through it is an adventure. Each space has a different relationship with the landscape and with the other spaces. We designed everything for this villa, including the interior: the kitchen, lighting, cupboards, – everything. The rooms in the villa can be used flexibly. To a certain extent, every room is the same, but with furniture we subtly give each room a function and atmosphere."

“During the design process, we couldn't really assess the complex spatiality of the villa properly from drawings and models”, says Christopher. “VR, Virtual Reality, was a real godsend here. It allowed us to walk through it and experience the spaces one to one. We also used VR a lot to assess the layout of the estate itself. This illustrates how the buildings would relate to each other in the landscape.”

Triangular residential building in ‘De Nieuwe Stad’

Dyvik Kahlen Architects is now also working on a triangular residential building in De Nieuwe Stad in Amersfoort for the same client, Schipper Bosch. The spatial framework for the densification of the former toothpaste factory was drawn up by ZUS. “Various parties worked on it. In the final phase, we contributed to the refinement of the various building masses. We are now developing one of the buildings on the site, that will become a triangular residential volume.”

"That triangular shape arose from all the restrictions that apply to that location in the area, in terms of sunlight and privacy. It results in a very interesting building that appears long from one side, shorter from another, and then very ‘sharp’ from yet other angles. Towards the river Eem, the building forms a billboard, as it were, for the new neighbourhood. The facade on that side will therefore have an industrial look, hinting towards the history of the area.”

The other facades of the triangular building will feature long balconies with taller and shorter plants: “De Nieuwe Stad has a fairly high density. With these plants, we can still add greenery to the living environment here."

Social housing in Paris

Dyvik Kahlen Architects works throughout Europe on architectural and urban planning projects, as well as interiors and exhibitions, and even furniture.

In Paris, the firm recently won a tender as part of a larger team to design a new residential neighbourhood, with Dyvik Kahlen Architects being responsible for the social housing design. “In this project, we want to give a new meaning to gallery access. Historically, it has gained a bad reputation, but we believe that if you use it in the right way, it can be very interesting. It results in homes that receive daylight from two sides. There are also outdoor spaces where you can meet your neighbours.”