Dutch company Ronald Janssen Architecten collaborated with architect Donald Osborne to overhaul an outdated gearwheel factory in the heart of Amsterdam, producing twelve maisonettes with double-height residing spaces .
Architects Ronald Janssen and Donald Osborne have been invited by developer Buro Amsterdam to revote the factory, which was formerly employed for producing gearwheels – the toothed wheels utilized in gear systems – but had been sitting empty for far more than a decade.
“It’s critical to protect the gearwheel factory due to the fact a lot of of these factories in the centre are demolished for newer and greater developments,” mentioned Janssen.
“The zoning plan tends to make it achievable to construct 3 floors, so developers experimented with to demolish the existing building and develop new dwellings.”
Even though they were tasked with turning the building into functional homes, both Janssen and Osborne have been keen to preserve as considerably of the factory’s original functions as possible.
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“Despite the fact that the factory is not of any certain architectural or historical significance, I feel we have to embrace these old buildings,” explained Janssen.
The twelve new residences are organised in back-to-back rows of six. 5 present openings, previously employed as loading bays for the factory, were retained and a more 7 have been added to produce an entrance to each and every property.
Large sliding gates of perforated steel conceal sheltered loggias, which act as private front gardens where bicycles can be kept, and where the front doors are situated.
“The pattern of holes is inspired by outdated images of the factory interior a various picture is used for each gate,” stated Janssen. “We pixilated the old images, until finally they grew to become an abstract pattern.”
Residing spaces are split across two amounts inside each and every unit. The ground floors are dominated by open-plan lounge, kitchen and dining spaces, with a toilet and storage organized along the outer wall.
Bedrooms and a roof terrace occupy half of the very first floor degree, while the other half is left as a double-height space above the living area to make the most of the several peaks in the sawtooth roof.
These tall volumes run in a strip through the middle of the developing and are intended to suggest a factory aesthetic, with retained steel trusses that have been brushed clean and left exposed.
Big glazed panels cover part of every single roof section, allowing an abundance of normal light to flood the space.
Windows that are no longer required have been filled in using cement, appearing as noticeable “scars”.
The architects intentionally left the interior unfinished, with no kitchen or bathroom fittings, short-term stairs and unpainted walls.
“These varieties of dwellings tend to entice individuals that favor to layout their personal interior,” said Janssen.
In accordance to the architects, the constructing was overgrown with ivy when they very first visited it. “It was like a green oasis in the city,” explained Janssen.
Though the vegetation has now been eliminated from the masonry, the architects have added various planters at street level. New roof sections have been planted with sedum to add a lot more greenery.
“Every person I have proven the constructing to has mentioned [they] want to dwell here simply because it gives a diverse, far more introverted way of residing in contrast to a lot more typical kinds of housing in Amsterdam,” said Janssen.
Many of Amsterdam’s former industrial spaces are being repurposed as demand for offices and housing in the city grows. Current examples incorporate a boiler home converted into a headquarters for an investment firm and an old warehouse turned into workspace for smartphone producer Fairphone.
Photography is by Luuk Kramer.
Gate diagram 
Floor programs 
Internet site plan 
Section one 
Segment two 
Section three Dezeen
