Femke van de Voort established Fem Architects just a year ago. But the Amsterdam-based practice has already created a confident and unapologetically tough looking take on the affordable family home. The Row House, built on the site of a former brick factory in the Klaprozenweg area of the city, is slim and muscular with a façade of ridged custom-made CorTen steel sheets. Rhythmic vertical recesses create striking shadows and, along with tall, deep-set windows, create a sense of looming but well-proportioned elevation.
The interior though is open, light-filled and smartly utilitarian. Designed as a live-work space, there are double height spaces at the front and rear of the house, one of which can be converted into a private office using steel and glass doors (all architects will now, of course, be considering similarly smart ways to create domestic work areas). There’ s more living space on a mezzanine level and bedrooms on the second floor
MORE FROM WALLPAPER* ARCHITECTS DIRECTORY 2020
The rear façade is softer but in impact but just as well executed a composition; two volumes in white stucco overlooking a patio garden and a loggia that will eventually lead to studio apartment. The plans also allow for the addition of a two-storey penthouse with its own entrance, designed to accommodate the client’s parents. Multi-generation capacity was a priority and a key concern for the client, as was sustainability, despite a strictly limited budget. The exterior timber-framed walls are filled with cellulose insulation and internal walls and floors have all been built using cross-laminated timber.
‘This was the first time I did a project of this size with my company,' says van de Voort. ‘I was lucky to have a client who entrusted me with the very personal task of designing their dream home. And my dream commission isn’t about building type or scale. It’s about people. I love to work for ambitious clients, with high expectations on aesthetics and eco friendliness.'
INFORMATION
-
Jaguar reveals its new graphic identity ahead of a long-awaited total brand rebootJaguar’s new ethos is Exuberant Modernism, encapsulated by a new visual language that draws on fine art, fashion and architecture
-
Olfactory Art Keller: the New York gallery exhibiting the smell of vintage perfume, blossoming lilacs and last night’s shameOlfactory Art Keller is a Manhattan-based gallery space dedicated to exhibiting scent as art. Founder Dr Andreas Keller speaks with Lara Johnson-Wheeler about the project, which doesn’t shy away from the ‘unpleasant’
-
Explore a barn conversion with a difference on the Isle of WightGianni Botsford Architects' barn conversion transforms two old farm buildings into an atmospheric residence and artistic retreat, The Old Byre
-
A peek inside the Nederlands Fotomuseum as it prepares for its 2025 openingThe home for the Nederlands Fotomuseum, set on the Rotterdam waterfront, is one step closer to its 2025 opening
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneerBack in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
-
Sun-drenched Los Angeles houses: modernism to minimalismFrom modernist residences to riveting renovations and new-build contemporary homes, we tour some of the finest Los Angeles houses under the Californian sun
-
A nest house in the Netherlands immerses residents in natureBuitenverblijf Nest house by i29 offers a bird-inspired forest folly for romantic woodland escapes in the Netherlands
-
The House Under the Ground is a Dutch home surrounded in wildflowers and green meadowThe House Under the Ground by WillemsenU is a unique Dutch house blending in its green field
-
Open Park Villa is a minimalist Dutch home embracing its parkland settingOpen Park Villa by i29 architects offers a green residential oasis in a formerly military-owned plot turned parkland
-
Câpsula, a series of tiny homes, champions 'living large with less'Câpsula, initiated by architecture studio i29, brings together tiny homes, wellness and a design-led approach at Dutch Design Week 2023
-
Kunlé Adeyemi’s water cities and visions of future living at Het Nieuwe Instituut‘Water Cities Rotterdam. By Kunlé Adeyemi’ opens at Het Nieuwe Instituut in The Netherlands, offering visions of future living
