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i29 creates colour-block interiors for Amsterdam dental clinic
Fresh white treatment rooms are contrasted with khaki-green communal areas inside the Dentista dental clinic in Amsterdam, which has been designed by local studio i29. More
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Horizontal line cuts through Amsterdam loft revamped by Firm Architects
Firm Architects has carefully organised zinc, mirror and brick elements to form a striking horizontal line around the interior of this loft apartment in Amsterdam’s De Pijp district. More
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Bicycle Garage The Hague provides 8,000 cyclists with room to park in “museum-like” space
Dutch design studio Silo has completed one of the world’s largest parking garages for bicycles, with nearly 8,000 underground parking spots next to a busy railway station. More
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Beyond Space drapes one kilometre of fabric across Amsterdam office
Design studio Beyond Space has created an office interior in Amsterdam that doubles as a showroom using rippling laser-cut fabric to form cave-like spaces for working. More
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Framework imbues Amsterdam family office with the “calm ambience of an art gallery”
Sculptural furniture and French oak panelling define this plush family office in Amsterdam, which has been renovated by local studio Framework. More
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i29 designs Amsterdam home around owner's extensive art collection
Double-height shelving and custom glass vitrines create ample storage space in this Amsterdam apartment, which was designed by local studio i29 to accommodate the owner’s vast collection of art and books.Located in a former industrial area in the north of the city, the 180-square-metre apartment is on the second floor of a residential block and belongs to a writer and art collector.
Above: double-height storage walls divide the space. Top image: they include a mixture of cabinets and open shelving
Built in 2020, the apartment block was set up as a Collectief Particulier Opdrachtgeverschap (CPO), which means collective private commissioning. In the Netherlands, this is a form of social project development in which a group of individuals act as the client for a new-build project.
The building is developed as a group and each owner buys an empty shell. They can then design and build partitions in their own apartment according to their specific needs.A green couch anchors the open-plan living room
Local studio i29 was commissioned to create a custom interior that would showcase the owner’s expansive personal library and an art collection of around 100 pieces.
“Having such a huge collection of artworks, our client wanted only one thing: to have the ultimate display and storage space,” i29 told Dezeen. “We started making a programme of requirements and calculating the exact amount of shelving we would need.”i29 created a mezzanine level to house two bedrooms
The designers were presented with an open loft space with double-height ceilings and no fixed layout.
On the ground floor, i29 created an open-plan space for the entrance area, kitchen and living room. A series of small sculptures are displayed on glass shelves in the kitchen, while larger artworks are placed up against the walls or mounted on them.The apartment accommodates more than 100 artworks
A mezzanine level was inserted within the double height space, housing a bathroom, two bedrooms and an office.
Two custom-designed larch wood storage walls span the full height of the apartment and include a mixture of cabinets and open shelving. They help to create a visual connection between the two levels, while concealing an integrated staircase that runs up to the mezzanine level.The bespoke kitchen is finished in larch wood and matt grey HPL
The bespoke kitchen and all of the cabinets throughout the apartment are finished in a combination of larch and matt grey high-pressure laminate (HPL).
The floor is made from matching resin, as i29 wanted to keep the material palette deliberately neutral in order to let the art take centre stage.i29 and Spacon & X named interior designers of the year at Dezeen Awards
“The stark and simple spatial interventions stand in contrast to the colourful pieces of art, balancing and supplementing each other,” the studio explained.
The mezzanine also houses a home office
In a similar apartment project featured on Dezeen earlier this year, EBBA Architects used structural ash and pine joinery – including a staircase, mezzanine and double-height storage wall – to connect the levels within a refurbished, open-plan apartment in London.
Photography is by Ewout Huibers.Read more: More
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Barde + vanVoltt transforms dingy Amsterdam garage into family home
Amsterdam studio Barde + vanVoltt has inserted skylights and glass partition walls into this former garage to transform it into a light-filled family home that celebrates the building’s industrial past.Located in central Amsterdam, just a few steps away from the Rijksmuseum, the 100-square-metre space is on the ground floor of a residential terrace built in the 1930s. It originally hosted a hardware store but was most recently used as a garage.
Above: wood-framed glass doors lead into the bedrooms. Top image: a wood-panelled kitchen is located at the front of the apartment
Barde + vanVoltt was asked to transform the building into a wide and open family home for four that brings in as much natural light as possible. The brief also called for the use of sustainable and natural materials as well as a simple, minimalist interior that allows details to stand out.
“We wanted to keep the space as wide as possible without having corridors or a hallway because that’s what makes this space unique in Amsterdam,” Barde + vanVoltt co-founder Valérie Boerma told Dezeen. “Most apartments are divided over multiple levels and are very narrow.”The dining room, kitchen and lounge share an open-plan space
Working to a six-month deadline, the studio’s first challenge was to channel natural light from the street-facing front of the building to the rear.
The large, double front doors that open up onto the road were switched from solid wood to glass, maximising the amount of light in the apartment’s open-plan kitchen, dining and living area.The wooden doorframes are arched in a nod to art deco
At the rear of the building, Barde + vanVoltt raised the roof and converted the ceiling into skylights. Underneath, the plan accommodates a total of three bedrooms – a master with an en-suite and two children’s rooms that double as playrooms.
Each is delineated by timber-framed glass walls and doors, allowing natural light to filter into these darker spaces.The apartments clay walls have built-in storage
The designers’ second challenge was balancing the integrity of the property with the needs of a young family.
“We drew inspiration from the building’s industrial past into the choice of materials and refined the selection based on durability and sustainability,” said the studio.A free-standing tin bath anchors the en-suite bathroom
The building’s original concrete floor was retained and offset against natural clay walls and arched wooden door and window frames reminiscent of the art deco period.
“We wanted to add warmth to the concrete floor, so we designed the wooden Meranti doors with a reference in the arching detail to the 1930s when the property was built,” Boerma explained.Standard Studio use skylights to funnel light into Amsterdam loft
The studio added industrial fixtures such as untreated wooden frames, a freestanding tin bath and sink in the en-suite, brushed and burnished copper tapware in the wet areas, and a kitchen island made from rolled steel with a quartzite benchtop.
Outside, the original hardware store signage on the building’s facade was left in place. In the summer, the wide double doors can be opened up and the pedestrianised street outside the apartment can be used as a terrace.The kitchen features quartzite worktops
“The neighbourhood – made up of a few streets – is a very unique area in the city centre of Amsterdam,” explained Boerma. “It feels like a village, everybody knows each other and kids are playing together on the streets.”
Former inner-city garages can offer unique but sometimes awkwardly-shaped sites for development. In east London, architect Zoe Chan built Herringbone House on the non-linear site of a former car workshop, while in south London Tikari Works squeezed Pocket House into the space of a former garage, where the buildable area was only 35 square metres.Read more: More
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Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe designs Utrecht care facility like a boutique hotel
Domstate Zorghotel is a rehabilitation centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands, designed by Dutch studio Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe to give patients a hotel experience.Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe deliberately approached the interiors of the 84-bed health facility like they were creating a 4-star hotel to give patients a more comfortable stay.
“Unlike similar ‘healing environments’, this care hotel is designed from the user’s perspective,” said the studio.
“The interior actively participates in the rehabilitation process of the patients,” they added. “From small interior accessories to large spatial gestures, everything is focussed on the process of healing.”Top: the care facility has 84 bedrooms. Above: a grand piano sits in the lobby
In the patients’ rooms elements such as a mirror, a shelf and a headboard hang from a curved rail on the wall on thick leather straps. As well as providing a striking visual element, the rail can be used for rehabilitation exercises.
Straps on handles and peepholes placed at different levels cater to patients with different levels of mobility.Door handles have accessible straps
To add to the boutique hotel vibe, each floor of rooms has a different colour scheme.
Colour is a central part of making the interiors feel less institutional. The lobby features a grey-blue curving reception desk and rounded seating with a mustard-yellow base.Parking for mobility walkers and plants
Fabric curtains on rails can be used to screen areas off and a grand piano can be used for practices and performances.
Graphic markings on the floor mimic different floor finishes and change colour according to the area, such as blue in the lobby, green in the dining room and pink in staff areas.Staff areas are also colourful
In Domstate Zorghotel’s restaurant, a curving green unit provides a discreet place to park wheelchairs and walkers. Rooms such as this are designed to subtly encourage guests to practise for real-world situations when they leave.
Plants spill out of boxes in the built-in dividers and seating areas.Colourful patterns cover the floors
Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe were careful to make sure the staff areas are fun and comfortable too.
A pink curved multi-level banquette screened by plants in pink planters forms an attractive place for employees to sit outside of their desks. Geometric markings in the pink floor add interest to another staff area.Integrated Field decorates children’s hospital in Thailand with slides and a pool
“In the areas of the building where employees work, it’s OK for them to colour outside the lines,” said Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe.
“The design for these areas is aimed at making the most of innovation and diversity in day-to-day work.”Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe designed the facility to be fun
Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe was founded in 1998 by Dutch designers Miriam van der Lubbe and Niels van Eijk. Their previous work includes a mirrored concept car and the refurbishment of a concert hall in Eindhoven.
Domstate Zorghotel has been shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2020 in the leisure and wellness interior category, alongside a children’s hospital in Thailand and an underground spa in New York.Read more: More
