A building plot is one integer area with a number of plots that are ready for building, with urbanization rights and a complete infrastructure. Besides the individual plots, there are joint-property estates as well.
When interested in a building plot, you no longer have to wonder if you are allowed to build there; that’s settled! But it is not just an official building plot; the plot is also ready for building.
And this means that all utilities are already in the ground, both relating to supply – electricity, water and phone – as to drainage, in order to drain wastewater and rainwater if necessary. So there are five systems with meter cupboards, transformers, channels, septic tanks, etc.
There is an access from the common road to the building plot, so you don’t have to excavate this any more. This means that you can immediately start building as soon as you own a plot and have an approved building plan.
Getting your building plan approved is simple, provided that you stick to a number of basic regulations that are taken up in the ‘permis à lotir’, or the permit for selling the plots as building plots. You are not allowed to, for example, build a castle with towers or a pyramidal house, but you can decide what shape, size and type your roof should be.
When it comes to the interior design, you can do whatever you like.
There also is a clear difference between ownership of the ground and other forms of buying a house located in a certain area. By acquiring the ground first, you will become the one and only owner of the ground. The ownership of the ground often remains with the copropriété and you only receive an exclusive user right. The plots have also been officially marked by a ‘géomètre’, which is recorded in a clear and official plan of the sale contract
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Information
What is a building plot?
Where does the name Troglo Village Origine come from?
Troglodyte is another word for caveman and is also used in French. It comes from the ancient Greek ‘τρώγλη – cave’. Troglodytique, a word that is used in the term “architecture troglodytique”, stands for cave and rock houses. Grass roof houses are one of the additions that modernize this term today.
The former troglodytes imitated animals that used grottos and alcoves in caves to look for shelter against cold weather and enemies. Over the years, these places were more and more used as rooms for living, and today we can still find complete inhabited rock houses in the Loire area and in Turkey. The presented houses and other grass roof houses completely threw off the primitive part, but the connection with nature and the original name led to the name Troglo Village.
The former troglodytes imitated animals that used grottos and alcoves in caves to look for shelter against cold weather and enemies. Over the years, these places were more and more used as rooms for living, and today we can still find complete inhabited rock houses in the Loire area and in Turkey. The presented houses and other grass roof houses completely threw off the primitive part, but the connection with nature and the original name led to the name Troglo Village.
The “concepteur’s” profile and the history of Troglo Village
TVO is Han van Geest’s little baby. Together with his wife Ans, he lived in the same village in France on the other side of the Troglo hill for 18 years. We have been restorers in Limburg for 9 years, to be exact in Bistro Le Pierrot in Geverik, at a stone’s throw from Beek – LB. We left for France in ’87 and rebuilt an obtained farm and made this a private house, restaurant and six holiday homes. From ’89 this became a commercial operation that was active from April 1 up to October 31, and this complex was sold to the Dutch de Goede family in 2000. It is now still called Auberge de Leyvinie and you can find all information about the estate at their website (www.domaine.leyvinie.org).
As said earlier, the exploitation of Leyvinie did not took place throughout the year and we could therefore use the time in winter for other activities. In 1991, we purchased the 10 hectares area for Troglo Village and in 1992 we made our planning. In 1993 we built a number of Troglo houses in one part of the area, finished with swimming pool and tennis court, and these houses were combined with the exploitation of Leyvinie.
At a later time, we thought about a possible destination for the 8 hectares that were left, but the busier exploitation prevented coming to a concrete plan.
After selling Leyvinie in 2000, we retreated to TVO and I started my activities in the real estate business. Little by little, we started discussing the idea to proceed with the idealistic plan to construct beautiful and comfortable houses on the hill.
With the fixed starting point that it had to be absolutely harmonious with the environment and the green, quiet and authentic character of the area, Troglo and large plots remained top priority.
Building 40 houses side by side above ground (‘à la mitraillette’ as the French call it) was also possible, and even simpler and cheaper and therefore easier to sell and more profitable, but this was absolutely no option for me.
The infrastructure for the ground of 11 plots was finished in 2003, with the idea to build and sell houses in 2004. This plan changed the same year, because we had to live and work in the Netherlands for some time for practical reasons. We therefore changed the plan to a building plot that was finished in 2005, so a finished project was ready that we didn’t have to guide from the Netherlands any longer.
A buyer was quickly found, being a Spanish property developer that purchased everything and would put the plots on the European market. It took incredibly long before everything was put on their name on the administrative side, and just before the final contracts were signed, the Spanish banks turned the tap off for the property developer.
Busy times in the Dutch catering industry and private circumstances then lead to the project being on hold until 2011, when we picked up the thread with the plans we are now presenting.
The Troglos we built in 1993 haven’t been sold in combination with Leyvinie, but all but one, which we kept ourselves, did get sold to new owners later.
You can clearly see these 4 houses at the left of the map, and together they form one small copropriété with a common infrastructure, under which a swimming pool and tennis court.
You may understand that I know all ins and outs of the area and its possibilities, and that I always loved using my creative mind – and still do so. We lived and worked in the area for 18 years, so the environment is mere child’s play for us.
The fact that the experience and possibilities of the place are not directly clear to everyone, made me decide to help you create a certain image by means of this presentation. On one hand we use this comprehensive information, and we called in an architect on the other hand to visualize some beautiful possibilities that will hopefully nourish your own creative process. You normally don’t find models or images of houses at a building plot, so this mainly is an ‘en plus’.
As said earlier, the exploitation of Leyvinie did not took place throughout the year and we could therefore use the time in winter for other activities. In 1991, we purchased the 10 hectares area for Troglo Village and in 1992 we made our planning. In 1993 we built a number of Troglo houses in one part of the area, finished with swimming pool and tennis court, and these houses were combined with the exploitation of Leyvinie.
At a later time, we thought about a possible destination for the 8 hectares that were left, but the busier exploitation prevented coming to a concrete plan.
After selling Leyvinie in 2000, we retreated to TVO and I started my activities in the real estate business. Little by little, we started discussing the idea to proceed with the idealistic plan to construct beautiful and comfortable houses on the hill.
With the fixed starting point that it had to be absolutely harmonious with the environment and the green, quiet and authentic character of the area, Troglo and large plots remained top priority.
Building 40 houses side by side above ground (‘à la mitraillette’ as the French call it) was also possible, and even simpler and cheaper and therefore easier to sell and more profitable, but this was absolutely no option for me.
The infrastructure for the ground of 11 plots was finished in 2003, with the idea to build and sell houses in 2004. This plan changed the same year, because we had to live and work in the Netherlands for some time for practical reasons. We therefore changed the plan to a building plot that was finished in 2005, so a finished project was ready that we didn’t have to guide from the Netherlands any longer.
A buyer was quickly found, being a Spanish property developer that purchased everything and would put the plots on the European market. It took incredibly long before everything was put on their name on the administrative side, and just before the final contracts were signed, the Spanish banks turned the tap off for the property developer.
Busy times in the Dutch catering industry and private circumstances then lead to the project being on hold until 2011, when we picked up the thread with the plans we are now presenting.
The Troglos we built in 1993 haven’t been sold in combination with Leyvinie, but all but one, which we kept ourselves, did get sold to new owners later.
You can clearly see these 4 houses at the left of the map, and together they form one small copropriété with a common infrastructure, under which a swimming pool and tennis court.
You may understand that I know all ins and outs of the area and its possibilities, and that I always loved using my creative mind – and still do so. We lived and worked in the area for 18 years, so the environment is mere child’s play for us.
The fact that the experience and possibilities of the place are not directly clear to everyone, made me decide to help you create a certain image by means of this presentation. On one hand we use this comprehensive information, and we called in an architect on the other hand to visualize some beautiful possibilities that will hopefully nourish your own creative process. You normally don’t find models or images of houses at a building plot, so this mainly is an ‘en plus’.