Wenslauer House Amsterdam Oud-West, /44 Architects Keizersgracht CJ Amsterdam The Netherlands T / +31 (0)

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1 31/44 Architects L/GB 1015 CJ Amsterdam The etherlands T / +31 (0) United Kingdom T /

2 31/44 has completed Wenslauer House, a new spacious family home on a constrained site in central Amsterdam. Replacing a dilapidated early 20th century workers cottage, Wenslauer forms an infill house on an unexpectedly irregular street within the conventional homogeneous streetscape more typical of Amsterdam. This eclectic quality of the street stems from its colourful past when the area was in use as the city s builders yard. A wide canal at the end of the street was used to bring materials into the city on large barges from the surrounding countryside and seaports, which were then offloaded and stored in large warehouses. Plots of land were divided up along the polder where the tradesmen gradually built workshops with their living accommodation above, giving a distinctive character to the street of non-uniform buildings built of relatively modest materials.

3 31/44 s design for the new house celebrates this quality whilst referencing the townhouse typology widely seen in the city centre, a reflection of the neighbourhood becoming more upscale as this area of Amsterdam adapts some of the formality of the historic centre. The practice underwent extensive negotiations with the local authority to ensure an appropriate design solution in keeping with the changing neighbourhood was achieved. The street elevation features a brick facade and pitched gable profile which was partly guided by council requirements. Bands of structural concrete and large window openings reference facade details from local workshops. In contrast, the rear is clad in simple utilitarian sheets of Equitone panels. The brickwork on the north facing street facade is laid in a Flemish bond to make the surface as textured as possible. The facade receives the sun only at the start and end of the day when the oblique angle of the sun brings the surface to life. A bench in front of the house is conceived as a shared amenity for the street, which has a lively sociable community that frequently takes over the road during summer evenings.

4 Internally, the 145 sq m house maximises all available space with rooms beyond the entrance spanning the full width of the plot. A void, with a large rooflight above, runs from the roof to the ground floor to bring natural light into the centre of the plan at all levels. A split-level ground floor with a lower ground floor creates a spacious kitchen / living room with full width glazed panels that open into the rear garden. The living spaces at both ground and first floor feature exposed timber structure to add depth, character and material warmth in the areas where the family spend most of their time. Bespoke units constructed from black and grey MDF and birch-faced plywood feature throughout the house. A built-in bench around the fireplace allows you to sit close to the fire whilst looking out at the garden. Constructed from precast concrete panels, the fireplace features a suspended steel flue that is left boldly exposed on the rear elevation a quiet reference to the light-industrial heritage of the area.

5 Location: Gross Internal Area: Completion Date: Architect: Team: Client: Structural Engineer: Services Engineer: Building Contractor: Interior Designer: Photographer: Wenslauerstraat 59, 1053AW, Amsterdam, L 145 sq m May /44 Architects James Jeffries, Milda Grabauskaite Duyts Bouwconstructies Van Breukelen & Rozendaal Elektrotekniek Van Baaren Aannemers 31/44 Architects Kasia Gatkowska

6 Site Location Plan 1:500 / A4 Scale / Format o. Client 1:500/A m Site Plan Scale / Format o. Client 1:500/A m Site Plan

7 Ground Floor Plan Roof Plan First Floor Plan Scale / Format o. Client Second Floor Plan Ground Floor Plan 1:200/A m 10m Plans Roof Plan First Floor Plan Scale / Format o. Client Second Floor Plan Ground Floor Plan 1:200/A4 Client 0 1 5m 10m m Scale / Format o. 1:500/A4 Site Plan Plans Floor Plans 1:200 / A4 Roof Plan First Floor Plan

8 Front Elevation Rear Elevation Front Elevation Rear Elevation Short Section Long Section Short Section Long Section Elevations and Sections 1:200 / A4 Scale / Format o. Client W59 1:200/A4 Amsterdam Scale / Format o. Client 1:200/A m 10m 0 1 5m 10m Elevations Sections Elevations Sections Keizersgracht 117 Unit CJ Amsterdam 3-15 Whitechapel Road

9 This year we will see the completion of seven buildings; it is our most productive year yet. We hope that this body of work will confirm our position as an emerging practice. The seven buildings comprise six one-off houses and a mixed-use retail and hotel building on Redchurch Street, London. Their conditions are varied with standalone buildings, difficult infill sites and carefully controlled historic conservation areas. 31/44 Architects was established in 2010 by William Burges, James Jeffries and Stephen Davies. The practice name references our locations with studios in both the etherlands (Amsterdam) and the United Kingdom (London). 31/44 & 2015 The practice works on projects ranging in scale from strategic masterplanning through to smaller scale residential work. s currently in development include refurbishing the conference facilities at The Barbican in London, a mixed-use retail and residential scheme in a historic south east England town and a masterplan for a retirement community overlooking the Mediterranean. In the autumn three more individual homes will start on site and complete next year. Our buildings are characterised by a thoughtful response to context they are not conceived in isolation, but instead grow out of the particular conditions of each setting, resulting in buildings with an inherent connection to their site whilst ensuring that they are a close reflection of our Clients requirements. We teach an undergraduate studio at Kingston University, London. Teaching has become a fundamental aspect of our practice; the discipline required by the constant articulation of ideas, observations and proposals in the teaching studio transfers to our design studio. 31/44 Architects L/GB 1015 CJ Amsterdam The etherlands T / +31 (0) United Kingdom T /