quay house

Private Client

IJburg exists out of a number of islands in the IJ lake and is situated east of Amsterdam. On one of the islands, called Rieteiland, a DIY-building lots have been released by residential foundation De Key. The quay of the island is characterized by a large variety of free lot residential houses. On one of these DIY-lots PROTOTYPE designed a modest residential building as a modern translation of the traditional quay houses.

In the centre of the building a mass and a void are created. The void has been designed as a high and sacral space, creating connection and interaction between the multiple levels and spaces in the house. The mass organizes and shares the building in a front and back house. The core is being pierced by the stairs, which playfully connects the different spaces, from living areas to the bedrooms.

The balance between the masses of the stairs and the lightness of the void can be felt clearly from different positions in the house. Modest hues and materials have been chosen to connect in colour and tactility of the base material concrete. As a result, this created synergy between colour and texture of the chosen materials and finishing a serene atmosphere arises. In combination with the dramatic light, the core of the house becomes a space for reflection and serenity.

Pavilions Vught

Private Client

In a park-like environment at the Rondeweg in Vught, a villa was built in the thirties out of the characteristic red bricks of that time. The quality of the park-like surrounding is continued in the design within the lot of the existing house.

As part of this ‘new park’, two pavilions have been designed: the tine office pavilion and a teahouse pavilion, both subtly connecting with the existing residential house. Both pavilions have their own identity and material characteristics, creating an interaction within the total concept.  

The materialization of the pavilion connects as much as possible with the existing residential house. The concrete plinth and copper roof grade colorwise with the typical red bricks of the house. The façade of the pavilion is made entirely out of glass in Iroko wooden frames, creating a strong inside outside relation, between nature and interior and between existing and new.

The teahouse pavilion is built out of an open braided pattern of steel, also functioning as the construction of the pavilion, thus creating a pavilion free of columns. The round roof of the pavilion exists out of double curved glass parts, connecting with the steel substructure. The braided steel elements are taken over by the greenery, creating a beautiful symbiose between the greenery of the park and the open structure of the pavilion.

Houseboat Warmond

Private client

House by the Spaarne

Private client

Vertical Lofts

Development Collective

Studio PROTOTYPE saw an opportunity to design a clear structure opposed to the diversity of design following the do-it-yourself initiatives in the street. This structure is distinctive in scale and materiality and a translation of the typological design of loft apartment. The residential houses are at the sun side of the building spaciously connected by means of a void.

A central core enables an open living environment, in which multiple set-up principles are possible. The core has been remained as small as possible by placing the stairwells completely outside of the building, making them part of the balconies on the backyard side. This finding, of placing the stairswells on the outside of the façade, resulted in more open living space within the complete building contour. By breaking up the structure at the plinth and the crown, the building opens up to the street and the view. The rhythm of the concrete façade emphasizes the loft apartments for which grand and high windows have been created, based on the maximum glass size of 5.40 meters. The windows give a framed view on the new developed neighborhood.

The concrete façade structure has been given multiple surface treatments, such as a surface with a coarse structure for the front façade penants. The penants are poured in traditional wooden molds. The deeper detailed concrete frames are treated to have a more smooth structure in order to create a more subtle difference in texture between coarse and smooth within the concrete materialisation. 

For one of the upper loft apartments, in the by studio PROTOTYPE designed Vertical Lofts, the interior has been designed. The apartment exists out of three levels, vertically connected by several voids and staircases. In contrary to the brutal, concrete exterior of the building, the interior feels subtle and warm. 

A multi-functional core is built up out of multiple elements all accessible and usable from the living space; such as entrance, cloakroom, kitchen and a closet that houses a complete home laboratory. This core of the building is coated with a special wooden pattern that forms a fine continuous line through the complete house. Different intimate spots are part of this core and give the user a comforting feeling within the interior. The subtle application of natural materials such as straw webbing, oak wood and nature stone are optimally balanced, providing a timeless whole.