look at me

a gallery and studios with living space on the ‘s-gravendijkwal

professors: ben huigen and ralf pasel

A gallery and studios with living space on the ‘s-Gravendijkwal. A street with an introverted character because of the high insecurity. Identity will be shown by providing correct exposure, in this case by turning it inside out and following suit.

de ’s-gravendijkwal

A colorful street in a colorful neighborhood. But the reason for the diversity of the different ethnic groups and stores are the red sex clubs and blue massage parlors along the shore.

A street view with closed facades and people discreetly trying to enter the parlors or looking straightforward while passing the Nieuwe Binnenweg and the Mathenesserlaan. Or cars trying to leave the city at high speed to Den Haag and the Maastunnel in the south.

A seemingly colorful street in a colorful neighborhood but essentially a wasteland with strangers.

The assignment is to design a residential building with five apartments at this location.

The design will be a positive contribution to the street in the form of a building with a clear identity, with regard to the shape as well as the users. Identity goes beyond image for me, it’s about exposing and following suit. Qualities that relate to the building and the future users.

The city of Rotterdam has appointed the creative sector as one of the three priorities for economic development. A sector that cares about identity but also takes care of traffic and ensures safety in the street. My design will combine residential with studio spaces, with a common ground floor that provides an opportunity to expose.

Identity will be displayed by revealing, in this case by exposing from the inside out and following suit. An archetypal form of a building is chosen, a house with a pitched roof. This is turned inside out so that the functions are visible to the passerby, to live and to work. The ‘chimney’ contains traffic areas and plumbing so that the remaining space (1600 square feet for housing and 800 square feet for work) can be divided without restrictions. The interior walls have a thickness of 3 feet and contain all the cabinets.

In between these interior walls runs a staircase with a landing on each floor, which provides access to the living and working areas. On the sixth floor is a large terrace, oriented towards the south. The studios have an orientation towards the north.

The basic shape of the house and the chimney is chosen to be made from concrete stained with red pigment, the color of brick and tiles.

2007