* Residential Architecture: W-House by VMX Architects

Residential Architecture: W-House by VMX Architects: “..When it comes to private housing design, the main challenge VMX sets for itself is to express the character and personal desires of the future inhabitants. The Walta-Elmers family commissioned VMX Architects to design their house on ‘Kleine Rieteiland’, one of the islands of the Amsterdam, Netherlands, district of IJburg. The client, longing for good quality outdoor life, wanted a spacious, open house with plenty of light. By studying several models, the concept of a ‘living-landscape’ was chosen. It is with this structure that all requirements could be solved, offering a large living space, a garden, a large amount of privacy and full views to the surroundings..The plot measures 8 by 30 meters. The urban plan challenged all architects to freely experiment with the full space of the plot, keeping in mind several restrictions such as building coverage and the fact that parking should be solved within the plot. The concept of living landscape maximizes the spatial potential of this plot by using the full plot in an efficient manner..The ground floor, containing the living area and kitchen, in a split level typology, has the ability to completely open to the outside and thereby create a partly covered living-landscape. This landscape is articulated with a higher and lower level. Under the higher level is a multifunctional cellar. The bedroom level is accessed by a spiral staircase. A round roof-light above the stairs brings light into the living-landscape.  The façade on the first level is completely closed with patio blocks. This suggests a floating box over the open landscape on the ground level..”  Extensive glazing, natural light; interesting interior volumes and concept..

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image: © Jeroen Musch; article: ”W-House / VMX Architects” 11 Feb 2013. ArchDaily

* Residential Architecture: House of Joyce & Jeroen by Personal Architecture

Residential Architecture: House of Joyce & Jeroen by Personal Architecture: “..The dilapidated state has necessitated a thorough reinforcement of the foundation and load-bearing structure of the entire house, opening up extraordinary possibilities in an otherwise commonplace apartment renovation..The combination of ambitious design visions and a large measure of trust from the client have resulted in a rigorous and uncompromising redesign, in which voids and split levels accentuate the full height of Den Haag, The Netherlands, typical row houses..The potential of the brick structure, the details such as glass-in-lead frames, and the characteristic “en-suite” room divisions were the deciding factors in purchasing the house, according to the clients. The tension between antique features and modern techniques is very evident in the redesign plan. The classical street façade is restored to its former glory, from ground to third floor..Behind the doors of the “en-suite“ element, a complete change is taking place. The rear façade is removed and clad with glass to a full height of 11 meters. The floor levels are detached from the façade, creating a void that spans three levels and generating an optimal source of daylight..In the back of the house, the load-bearing wall between the corridor and the living room  is replaced with a steel construction. Four new floors with a net height of 2,4 meters protrude from this construction. These floors remain openly linked to the existing floor levels. The interplay of voids, the split-levels and the glass façade, all create a spectacular drama between interior and exterior on the one hand, and between the existing and new floors on the other..The intervention in the back of the house can be interpreted as a three-dimensional, L-shaped element of five storeys, accessed by a new steel spiral staircase. The staircase brings a new dynamic between the different parts of the house and makes a separation between owners and guests possible. Vertically, the L-shaped element ends in a roof-terrace with jacuzzi and outer kitchen that lies far above the balconies of the lower floors..This rigorous redesign project has reorganized the total accessible surface of the house towards an excess of floor space, generating more rooms and more daylight. To the owner, the residence promises an extraordinary living experience. To passers-by, it cannot be distinguished from any other house on the van Merlenstraat..”  Outstanding redesign and renovation; extensive glazing, natural light; indoor / outdoor and contextual sensibility; interesting interior volumes, interplay and details..

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image: © René de Wit; article: ”House of Joyce & Jeroen / Personal Architecture” 26 Mar 2013. ArchDaily

* Architecture: Glass Farm by MVRDV

Architecture: Glass Farm by MVRDV: “..Schijndelâ, Netherlands’s market square suffered from Operation Market Garden damages during the Second World War and has been subject to numerous enlargements and refurbishments. Winy Maas wrote a letter in 1980, and in 2000 the town council adopted the idea of a new structure in the square between the church, town hall and main street. MVRDV since then iteratively proposed new options that could fill the gap of this unusually large village square. The Glass Farm is MVRDV’s seventh proposal for the site, earlier designs included a theatre..The village engaged vividly in the process resulting in heated debates, polls and polemics in the local press – by supporters and adversaries. The 1600m² building which is entirely covered by a glass facade consists primarily of a series of public amenities such as restaurants, shops and a wellness centre..By coincidence, the maximum envelope that was defined by the town planners had the form of a traditional Schijndel farm. All remaining historical local farms were measured, analyzed and an ideal average was conceived from this data. In collaboration with MVRDV, artist Frank van der Salm photographed all the remaining traditional farms, and from these an image of the typical farm was composed. This image was printed using fritted procedure onto the 1800m2 glass facade, resulting in an effect such as a stained glass window in a cathedral. The print is more or less translucent depending on the need for light and views..At night the structure will be illuminated from the inside, becoming a monument to the farm. At a height of 14 metres the Glass Farm is intentionally designed out of scale and is 1.6 times larger than a real farm, symbolizing the village growing into a town. The printed image follows this ‘augmented history’, with the superimposed farm door for example appearing 4 metres tall. When adults interact with the building, they can experience toddler size again, possibly adding an element of nostalgic remembrance to their reception of the building. To enhance this further, there will be a table and swing next to the building, a scaled up farmyard..Coinciding with the completion of the building, an exhibition opens in the local Museum Jan Heestershuis about Context and Authenticity. Later this year a book will be published by NAi Publishers exploring the development of the Glass Farm, including a literary description of the lengthy processes which lead to its realisation..MVRDV realised the building for RemBrand developers, a combination of Van Den Brand Real Estate and Remmers Construction Group, together with Hooijen Engineers, IOC Ridderkerk for installations, Brakel Atmos for the facade and AGC for the print..”  MVRDV’s vernacular, contextual, historical, and creative sensibility once again brought to the fore..

See our posts on other work by MVRDV:

• Architecture: MVRDV proposes 400 meter tall ‘vertical city’ in Jakarta
• Architecture: Baltyk Tower by MVRDV
• Residential Architecture: Balancing Barn by MVRDV for Living Architecture
• Architecture: Alphabet Building by MVRDV
• Architecture: In Korea: MVRDV: The Cloud

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image: © Persbureau van Eijndhoven; article: ”Glass Farm / MVRDV” 22 Jan 2013. ArchDaily http://www.archdaily.com

* Residential Architecture: Tree-Trunk Garden House by Piet Hein Eek

Residential Architecture: Tree-Trunk Garden House by Piet Hein Eek: “..It sometimes happens that you are asked to produce something you have actually wanted to do for some time. A customer called and asked if we could build a log shack in his field, one that would be large enough to sit and write inside. I loved the idea from the start. Oddly enough, we’ve recently received quite a few questions about the log shack we produced years ago..That shack has been added to the collection of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. And now we’ve constructed one as a stack of logs standing in a pasture at the edge of the woods..Not long after that, we sold a version of the shack I had wanted to design for quite a while, this time in a different size and made of birch. As the shack began to take shape, so did the enthusiasm of all those involved in its construction or who saw it. The windows and shutters are what really make the difference. The sliding windows are fitted into specially designed frames, although “specially designed” is somewhat of an exaggeration for the simple plastic and steel profiles..”  Marvelous.

See our posts on other work by Piet Hein Eek:

• ICFF – International Contemporary Furniture Fair 2011 Editors’ Awards Winners ICFF
• Piet Hein Eek in Milan 2010 – Unification and Sustainability

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image: © Thomas Mayer; article: ”Tree-Trunk Garden House / Piet Hein Eek” 22 Jan 2013. ArchDaily. http://www.archdaily.com