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Who Would Live in this Exquisite but Sterile Glass Box?

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This gorgeous glass box house from Hans van Heeswijk Architects is in Amsterdam – where it might seem to be lacking the privacy needed for a home.

In fact the glass box is set in a wide open space with no close neighbors.

In front it is met by one of the many canals that wind their way through the Netherlands.
This means that nobody can see into the house up close (unless they are briefly passing on the water)

To the back, where roads do pass it close by, it is shielded for privacy. And it is camouflaged as a trendy commercial building, so who would be peering in!

In the centre of the glass box is a core (the ‘magic box’) that rises the full three- storey height of the building and contains the plumbing, closets, electrical etc.

This means no wiring has to be hidden in exterior walls. Nothing interferes with the view out.

A decidedly industrial esthetic means clean lines, a super-spacious kitchen, with lots of stainless steel and grey.

The master bathroom on the top floor similarly enjoys a brisk clean view across the canals. But it too is all about efficiency.

Laundry is thrown into a shute in the bathroom at the top of the house that carries it down two floors in that central magic core to the washing machine. Once washed, it is loaded into a a lift to be returned up to the bedrooms.

You will not be surprised to hear that the wood-wrapped magic core of the house also efficiently circulates clothing.

While enjoyably consistent – I must say the esthetic is pretty severe! Perhaps this is a house that a robot would call home?

Or perhaps a corporation? I understand corporations are people now, so they need a place to rest at the end of a long day just like the rest of us.

But whoever lives in this rather sterile environment clearly does love to read however. Perhaps a CEO of an important company, someone impatient, uncompromising, organized, efficient, scrupulously careful…

It turns out it is the architects own house, and thus serves as an advertisement of his abilities for commercial design. Now it makes sense.

via Arch Daily
photo credit: Imre Csany/Csany Studio