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Architects: FABRICations
- Area: 200 m²
- Year: 2017
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Photographs:Jansje Klazinga
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Manufacturers: Armstrong Flooring, Borellith, DLW, Flexa, Nora
Text description provided by the architects. Casco Loft is an interior design project developed by FABRICations for one of the Superlofts Houthaven, in Amsterdam. The three stories dwelling takes advantage of the flexibility of the structure to deliver an innovative experience of a housing interior, in line with the resiliency principles of FABRICations. The design relies on a range of strategies that aim to privilege interaction and flexibility, encouraging shared activities and free use. Enclosed spaces, like the bedrooms, are minimized and strategically placed to leave visual and physical proximity of common spaces.
In essence, the shell (in Dutch “Casco”) is treated as an open space, where suspended boxes are fitted in. The upper floors are retracted to generate voids and double heights in the proximity of the façades. Such design increases not only the amount of sunlight in the living areas of the house but also allows for more cross ventilation, hereby ensuring a high degree of passive environmental control while simultaneously generating an unconventional spatial experience.
Furthermore, each space has its own characteristic visual identity, relying on a wide range of colors, textures, and materials. Different levels of transparency, reflectivity and separation are achieved by the use of metal meshes, wood, resin paint, and methacrylate panels. The choice of unconventional materials for interiors, like the metal mesh normally adopted in armored concrete, brings to the construction added value also in terms of cost-effectiveness, lightweight and space occupation.
The flexible layout was designed to allow for a variety of visual and personal interactions. The dominant colors of the staircases and their prominent positioning within the house turn the act of moving through the house into an adventurous journey. By creating multi-functional areas that can change use according to the needs of the user, the design maximizes the value of every single square meter. The entrance space, for example, can be turned into working space or additional living space, since it is located on a separated level from the rest of the house. In the meantime, a guest bedroom is hidden in the colored volume at the entrance, ready to be used during night time.
