In the spirit of Thanksgiving, ArchDaily looks back to present a compilation of the most stunning kitchens we’ve covered in the last year. While it may be a bit too late for this year, read on to get some inspiration for perfecting your feast and amaze your guests in 2017.
Introduction ‘House of Rolf’ is an ambitious transformation of a late nineteenth century coach house into a spectacular home and workspace. What is truly unique about this project is that all the materials used to carry out this transformation originated from a demolished office building that was located next to the coach house. The care and meticulous way in which these materials were reapplied can be witnessed in the end result. ‘House of Rolf’ is proof that waste can be turned into something beautiful.
From office building to sculptural home and studio The former coach house that makes up the shell of ‘House of Rolf’ was originally built in 1895 in the back garden of a wealthy aristocrat’s home located on the stately Maliebaan in Utrecht, the Netherlands. In 1955 an outbuilding was constructed in wood between the residences on the Maliebaan and the coach house. Although initially intended as a temporary structure the building stood for 57 years. In 2008, when the stately office buildings on the Maliebaan were being turned into private homes, this wooden one storey office building remained, abandoned and unused. In 2011 Rolf Bruggink acquired this building, the coach house and the surrounding terrain with the intention of demolishing the former building. The demolition process was the trigger for Bruggink to use recovered materials to construct a new sculptural and functional structure within the shell of the coach house.
Spatial design The spatial design of ‘House of Rolf’, the former coach house and the sculptural and functional object it contains, was carried out by Rolf Bruggink in consultation with his girlfriend Yffi van den Berg. The coach house itself is a rectangular brick building of 15 by 7 meters and 5.5 meters tall. 5 trusses carry the roof, which neatly divide the space into 6 equal bays. The design of the space is based on this simple structure with the house divided into 3 zones each consisting of 2 bays. The first zone is left completely empty so that the original coach house can be fully experienced. The middle zone contains a structure that stands completely free from the coach house shell so that you can easily look beyond it from the first zone. This second sections of the space houses the kitchen, bedroom, toilet, shower, bath and office. By positioning this sculptural structure in the middle of the house a front, middle and back division is created. This functional object thus simultaneously divides as well as connects the space. In the third zone, a second structure is located which together with the structure in the middle zone, form ‘House of Rolf’s sculptural living space. This second structure differs from the first, in the way that it is consciously attached to the shell of the coach house, merging with it. This back zone contains more intimate living spaces. A new large format panoramic window has been cut out of the back wall of the coach house allowing light to flood into the space. This is the only intervention made into the original building.
Layout On the ground floor, the sculptural living space houses a separate kitchen, toilet and technical space. The first floor contains a shower room, bedroom, walk-in closet and an office with bath. All the rooms on the first floor are accessible from an elevated corridor that is connected to one of the coach house walls. On the ground floor the structure stands completely free from the coach house shell so that one can walk around it unimpeded.
The Build Having determined the principle spatial design of ‘House of Rolf’, Rolf Bruggink invited Niek Wagemans to help design the project in more detail with the materials of the former office block as the sole construction material. There are no detailed technical drawings of the build, just a scale model in which the spatial design is presented. Using this model as a starting point, Rolf and Nick commenced the build developing the design further during the construction process. It was this mode of working that led to the ultimate form of the sculptural object.
The self-formulated goal of the project was to use all the materials of the office building, leaving nothing to waste. To achieve this objective, Niek Wagemans’ skills as a designer were particularly useful. Wagemans’ expertise is in designing and building architectural structures and furniture pieces using second hand materials. He finds ingenious ways to re-use materials that are ready to hand to create new functional objects. The staring point of the build was to erect two walls constructed from the numerous radiators salvaged from the office building. In this initial phase the office building had not yet been demolished. Shortly after this part of the job however, the building had to be dismantled in order to free up the materials necessary to continue the build. The vast quantities of materials that this generated, led to a giant task of working out which materials to allocate to which specific section of the design. Niek’s discerning eye in looking for and picking out the most well suited material for a particular part of the construction was very important in this process. A large related challenge was to store and conserve these large quantities of materials. A part was housed in old bungalow tents on the building site. The remainder had to be contained in the coach house itself for want of other storage options. All of this amounted to a big logistical challenge.
A fascinating aspect of this project was that initially there was a wealth of available materials. This being so as the office building presided over a 200 square meter surface area and the coach house a mere 50 square meters. This meant that materials could be applied liberally. For example the house includes a solid wooden partition wall constructed from trusses and purlins. A solid wooden floor was also constructed from floor beams. This generous application of materials meant however that towards the end of the build nearly the entire supply of materials had been used
Llewellyn House is a private home located in Marrickville, Australia. It was designed by Studioplusthree in 2015. Llewellyn House by Studioplusthree: “Inviting life into a once-derelict Marrickville cottage, a complete renovation and new extension establishes living and rehearsal space for two musicians. A comfortable retreat set within a garden; original Federation interiors are restored in crisp white, whilst new elements are introduced in a restrained palette of dark timber, steel..
What’s the difference between a “road”, a “drive” and a “way”? Or between a “street”, a “boulevard” and an “avenue”? The naming conventions that we attribute to the networks that we use to move about are, in fact, a little more complex than you might imagine. In this film by Phil Edwards for Vox, the intricate world of road classification and definition is given a (long overdue) explanation – and one which might help you think a little deeper about urban mobility.
From the architect. The brief for the Victoria Gate masterplan was to design a new, vibrant, key urban block in Leeds city centre which provided retail and leisure uses anchored by a department store, with an associated car park. The visibility and identity of the department store was an important part of the brief.
The scheme needed to be designed as an extension of the Headrow, the city’s main civic axis, and Hammerson’s brief right from the beginning was that the scheme should not be a ‘mall’ but more a 21st century extension of the existing Victorian arcades for which Leeds is famous.
Combined Ground Floor Plan
Combined 1st Floor Plan
Victoria Gate,in the East of Leeds city centre, forms a natural extension of Victoria Quarter and Leeds’s retail district. The scheme includes a new John Lewis department store, multi storey car parking and two arcades with a mix of shops, restaurants and leisure facilities.
The buildings appear as three distinct elements with individual identities that relate to each other and the vernacular of Leeds.
The new John Lewis store anchors the scheme. Placed on the extension of the Headrow, the city’s main civic axis, the store forms a visible gateway into the city centre.
The materiality of the building draws on the history of terracotta façades in Leeds, often produced by the local Burmantoffs Terracotta works, providing a modern interpretation of a traditional material. The façade order is also influenced by the textile history of Leeds as well as John Lewis, and is designed as a layered terracotta skin reminiscent of woven fabric. The diagrid is the ordering element that repeats along the perimeter of the building ; the resulting diamonds contain infill panels which respond to the internal layout of the store and the immediate context, providing transparency and ornamentation to the building.
The Victoria Gate multi-storey car-park [MSCP] is visible from all main urban approaches. From the outset the intention was to separate John Lewis from the car-park, but to acknowledge their shared purpose and relationship to the façade.
Twisted aluminium fin cladding creates a diagrid pattern, emphasised by the shadows generated, which relates to the John Lewis façade. The façade efficiently provides vehicular restraint, daylight and natural ventilation.
The Arcades building is designed as a two storey, twin arcade with a complex glazed roofscape continuing the grand history of Leeds’s 19th century arcades. A large casino sits above the arcade, partially over-sailing it and creating a four storey civic frontage on Eastgate.
The exterior of the building evolves from the 19th and 20th century language of the surrounding Blomfield and Victorian brick and terracotta buildings, with sculpturally pleated brick elevations – brick-faced pre-cast concrete panels- changing in rhythm and scale responding to the context of the site.
The interiors of the arcades are inspired by the Victorian tradition through the use of curved glass and patterned stone floors, based on Leeds’s woolen herringbone cloth.
From the architect. The position of the house on a topographic gap generates different relationships with its immediate environment. On one hand, the treetops are at the height of a handrail, on the other, the network of branches is a filter through which the living room overlooks. The basalt roof frames and highlights in black the views that reach different depths of field offering a range of situations for the dweller.
At some points, the inclination of the slabs points towards the horizon to blend the skyline of the building with that of the mountains in the background. At others, the wavy ledge frames the domestic courtyard.
Plan
The proliferation of offset walls enhances diagonal relations between spaces. The extension of the walls and the roof slabs allows the design of the interior space to the outside, while trapping the framed landscape by creating lines that link the building to the site. Thus, the house appropriates the exterior space.
Algotec is a high-tech company engaged in information development and processing in the sphere of medical imaging. Its corporate offices are located in Ra'anana and extend over three floors. In the new interior planning, we linked all three floors with a private interior staircase, used solely by Algotec’s employees.
During the design process, our planning ideas drew on the company’s content world – the human body and its components. The inspiration for the interior planning and design came from images of the human body’s elements, like cells, molecules, tissue, and the spinal column. Together, all these elements formed the basis for a unique design language that drew together the interior planning and design concepts.
As the design team, our challenge was to use imaging from human anatomy and translate it into a fresh architectural vocabulary. We did this by processing anatomical images through filters of scale, materials, prints, and textures. The result was a distinctive design vocabulary that in turn generated a set of design ideas and solutions. Accordingly, the conference room is covered with a construction of wood strips simulating the layering of human tissue; the textures and graphics covering the partitions replicate cell patterns in large-scale; the wall coverings and floorings simulate the structure of the ribcage; and the suspended lighting fixtures are inspired by human tissue and cells.
Assisted by that special vocabulary, all these imaging and design elements create a warm and inspiring workspace. It’s a ‘home’ that encourages shared productive efforts, and preserves the fine balance between closed private spaces and open spaces for social meetings and gatherings.
From the architect. Located in a hutong near the historical centre in Beijing, the L-shaped house is sandwiched between the old hutong wall and a two floor building. The renovation aimed to transform the dated 43 m² residence into a convenient, functional modern living space for a family of six people .
Diagram
The first floor is consisted of a number of wooden boxes that functioned as living room, dining room, bedroom, study room and bathroom, creating a continuous open space that offers opportunities for communication between family members, at the same time ensuring each individual have a independent living space. The size of each box is decided according to the height of people’s activities in different functional areas. The open space on the 2nd floor is the kid’s bedroom and playground. SoJ materials such as rugs and nets are used in order to make sure the kid’s safety and also to create a warm and intimate atmosphere .
The shared corridor on one side of the house is not only connected to all the interior areas but also connected to outdoor public spaces, like a extension of the Hutong. With a long skylight that goes through the entire house, sufficient natural light streams in, creating a sense of being in the outdoor space. The facade facing the backyard is made of wooden frame and transparent glass, which can be opened as a huge door. Thus the interior living space and the backyard are bridged together, diffusing the boundary between the indoor and outdoor space.
The design took the inspiration of public sharing spaces in traditional Beijing Hutong, conveys the vision that a home can be a open space as a part of the public urban spaces and what defines a home is the relationships of the people who live inside and the relationships between people and the environment.
The project, which sits on the border of two residential districts in the Peruvian capital, perches on the edge of a natural inner-city ravine. It is conceived as a piece of geology, mirroring the organic curve of the landscape and accommodating itself in the city. “To its close neighbours,” the RIBA have suggested, it appears as “a series of landscaped terraces with clefts, overhangs and grottos – a modern day Machu Picchu.”
Grafton Architects have created a new way to think about a university campus, with a distinctive ‘vertical campus’ structure responding to the temperate climatic conditions and referencing Peru’s terrain and heritage.
They continued: “UTEC has been designed to encourage its students to interact in a unique way with the building. The vertical structure provides open circulation and meeting spaces in a succession of platforms that compose the ‘frame’ of the building; teaching rooms, laboratories and offices are enclosed, inserted into and suspended from the exposed concrete structure. The frame is a device providing shade, a place of rich spatial exuberance and a platform from which to view the life of the city. The entire life of this vertical campus is on full display to the people of Lima.”
UTEC is the culmination of years of experimentation by Grafton Architects. In this building they show the mastery of their craft, gifting Lima with a bold yet considerate contribution to the city and a visionary, world-class building.
The campus building, designed in collaboration with Shell Arquitectos, is part of Lima’s specialist engineering university which was established to give young Peruvians access to qualifications, professional opportunities and to encourage social mobility.
Sig Nordal 