The walkway as a method of accessing apartments is one of the most common systems in the Netherlands. It allows for multiple layers of houses on the same piece of land without a central distribution point and the illusion of less vertical circulation points. It results into long and narrow balconies which are promoted as […]
Architectural Ponderings
Human Nature, Psychology and Architecture
We are influenced from the very first moment in one way or another by everything that surrounds us. Mothers are aware that food, environment, stress and emotions have a major impact on a baby. Education, home environment and more get added to the list once the child is born. The amazing thing is that more […]
The Power of Hand Drawing and How to Draw a Perspective from Scratch
With the amazing technological development of the last decades, hand drawing has been pushed back. The opinions are split. Many ask why should one learn to draw when there are so many programs that can do that for you. I may be bias in the mater as I took intensive classes in order to pass […]
About Innovation, Awareness and People
This week at the Building Holland event, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute had its Built Positive Workshop. They introduced their view on the world and their approach. Successful cases both abroad and already taking place in the Netherlands were presented and people from various fields brainstormed together. In short and in their words: “The Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute is […]
Variety, Variation or Just an Illusion?
During my graduation year I was a young enthusiastic and rather timid architect to be. I was not yet sure of my foothold and of how high I was to “raise” my voice. My graduation internship was on new ground: being abroad (cultural and social novelty) and in the largest architectural office environment to that […]
The Hamster Box
Neufert’s magical book for architects has this lovely page about balconies. It exemplifies the various types and their characteristics. Balconies are exterior structures, typically on the outer limits of the facade with the simple purpose of providing outdoor experience to the residents of an apartment. When these balconies are placed inside the limits of a facade (biting […]
The Door
Though extremely useful and highly loved within an apartment, a door occupies a large surface. The surface that a door uses in the process of opening is a dead space. Can not be occupied with anything else and has to be taken in consideration when calculation circulation routes within the room itself as well as […]
“-Re” House no.3: Window Fear (1/2)
The functional style is a strong element in the Dutch residential architecture. A large part of it is indeed practicality. So, from the perspective of the contractor it makes perfect sense to have a limited number of products. It simplifies the task of giving a price estimation, it makes construction faster and eases the life of the building team. […]