wood-carving house

In spite of the prefab wood elements used in this construction, this private house located Steigereiland in IJburg conjures up the idea of a five-storey wood-carving. Maatworks architects were commissioned to fill the entire building envelope with a townhouse inspired by the clients’ beloved Scandinavians houses. The architects used one material in particular: pine wood which was even painted bright red for the facade.

Behind the eye-catching facade lies a prefab system based on glulam building components that allows the architect to connect nearly all the components both structurally and spatially. For example, the wall of the staircase are both bannisters and walls for the adjoining rooms. Via a large skylight and several small openings in the stairwell, daylight penetrates deep into the house, an effect that is further enhanced by the floor-by-floor widening of the stairwell as it rises.

Maat architects avoided monotony in the interior with whitish-grey doors and cement covering floors, with integrated floor heating, finished concrete.