House M&M
Type: dwelling Location: Amsterdam Client: private Team: Marijn Schenk, Claudia Linders, Bart Reuser, Michel Schreinemachers, Joost Lemmens Collaborator / associate: Claudia Linders Floor area / size: 180 m2 Photographer: Gert Jan Kocken Start building: may 2007 Completion: december 2007 Status: realized
2008-10-25 Another NEXT nomination: Dutch Design Awards 2008
The only things inside the House M&M on the Oostelijke Handelskade in Amsterdam are white cubes: no walls, no rooms, no trafficways. Or perhaps, no rooms, no walls, only trafficways. Each of the four cubes encompasses different functions, serving as a gigantic furnishing that determines the area around it. The first contains a toilet, bath and shower; the second, a wash basin and wardrobe. The third cube envelops a double bed and a bookcase, the fourth cube contains two single beds and a workplace. In this way the function of the area between the cubes is determined: the area between the first and second cubes, or between bath and wash basin, becomes the bathroom. When not in use, however, these areas revert to open space in the dwelling. The volumes of the dwelling are finished in white satin paint. The wet function areas have been treated with a polyurethane coating. On the second level of the dwelling, the cube is revisited in the form of a low-elevation square: the kitchen island, around which all the kitchen functions are arranged
Hemonylaan
Type: Dwelling Location: Amsterdam Client: Boris Hollotcheff Team: Michel Schreinemachers, Marijn Schenk, Bart Reuser, John van de Water Floor area / size: 200 sqm Cost: Euro 300.000,00 Construction: Strackee Amsterdam Completion: April 2002 Status: Completed
The project started with a characteristic Amsterdam period house: built around the end of the 19th century, it is narrow and deep. Prior to the reconstruction, the house had been divided into 3 apartments, each with shower and kitchen, inhabited by a total of 8 students. To restore the original state and typology of this stately mansion, it had to be transformed into one again. The floor plan of the house was established: the kitchen with dining room would be located on the ground floor, on the first floor the living room, on the second a guestroom and study and on the top floor the master bedroom and bath.
Openness was the overall theme, without compromises, so all interior walls were torn down. The staircase was originally situated at the back of the house, freeing the ground and first floors from transitory traffic. The stairway leading from the second floor to the third is situated in the middle of the area. Within this open space we placed several custom-built constructions to accommodate functions and to provide divisions of space without making closed rooms. In this way we transformed the claustrophobic effect of the narrow space of 4,5 by 10 meter.
Three installations were added to accommodate a kitchen on the ground floor, a bathroom and a stair on the second and a walk-in closet on the third.
De Stad
Type: Apartment and office space Location: Lijnbaansgracht , Amsterdam Client: Jeroen Saris, De Stad bv Team: Bart Reuser, Marijn Schenk, Michel Schreinemachers, John van de Water with Wout Smits Collaborator / associate: Color advise: Claudia Linders Floor area / size: 340 sqm Cost: Euro 250.000,00 Contractor: Bouwbedrijf Berlage Build engineer: Bouwadviesbureau Strackee Installations: Van Brederode & co Carpenter: Morowood Start building: January 2002 Completion: September 2002 Status: Completed
The new owner of an historical building in the very heart of Amsterdam asked NEXT Architects to develop a design that would comprise both office and home, but maintain some separation of the two. The building had to contain a large diversity of living and working areas, while opening up the interior space.
We were inspired by synonyms for different life and work spheres, such as: cafe, club, monastery, library and restaurant. The relation between the two office floors is opened up by taking out part of the floor area and replacing it by making a cube that contains many of the service functions, such as kitchen, counter, stairs and toilets. To optimise the use of the space, we opted to partition the building into three functional zones, each with a characteristic design and atmosphere.