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three generation house by BETA photo interior kitchen and living room void with yellow staircase by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

3 generation house

 

Until the Second World War, inter-generational living was a common phenomenon in The Netherlands. With the advent of the Welfare State in the 60’s and 70’s, it became possible – and common – for families to split up geographically. Changing political and economic times now require Western societies to reconsider this situation.

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Contemplating this new paradigm where generations must once more look out for one another, a family comprising of two households decides to build a house together. While the younger couple already lives in the city, the Grandparents were keen on moving back to the vicinity of urban amenities.
The goal of the project was to create a building where both families could enjoy each other’s company without sacrificing the advantages of private family life. As such two separate apartments are stacked on top of one another with the only connection being a communal entrance. While the project anticipates a greater dependency of the Grandparents, the immediate advantage of the close proximity of the two families is enjoyed through activities such as running errands, shared social gatherings and the occasional day-care for the children.
three generation house by BETA concept scheme growth over time Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen
Adapting with time

For this mini-apartment building a concept was devised that would allow the building to accommodate changing spatial demands over time. The bottom apartment has an office and a direct relationship with the garden, making it ideal for a working family with young children. The elderly couple occupies the top apartment with generous views across the cityscape. This apartment has an elevator, level floors and wider door openings in order to accommodate wheelchairs. While it does not resemble an elderly home, all necessary preparations have been made for reduced physical ability.

Instead of reducing vertical circulation to a necessity, it occupies the heart of the building. Omnipresent as a sculptural element in the lower apartment, the staircase gradually transforms into a series of voids higher up in the building. By placing the vertical access system in the middle of the floorplan, the building is divided into a ‘fore’ and ‘aft’. Either side of the floorplan can be connected to one of two staircases to create a different configuration.

The building has been engineered to facilitate the transfer of space on the second floor. Initially used as a space for guests for the Grandparents’ apartment, the space can be easily added to the lower apartment through a few minor adjustments. The position of the double-helix staircase makes it possible to stretch the inter-generational living concept even further. Two studio apartments could be made on the North façade to allow the younger family’s children to live in the building past their adolescence.

concept scheme showing abstraction of plan with closed north facade and open south facade Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen
Open vs. enclosed

As though a clair-obscur, the gradient in the building’s plan is emphasized in the building’s contrasting façades. The Northern façade is mostly closed to reduce thermal loss and reduce sound exposure along the busy street. Towards the South the building opens up completely, maximizing passive solar gain and the connection with the outdoors. In between the two contrary façades, the building’s plan undergoes a gradual transformation, from compartmentalized in the North, to open-plan and structured with free-form elements towards the South. Here the building is concluded with an informal, filter-like balcony layer.

Material and composition

In a near elementary detailing, the building communicates its composition and materials communicate their purpose. Hence the Southern façade is clad only with large triple glazing window frames to underline the building’s relationship with the outdoors. The remaining structural walls are composed of large format concrete masonry and wrapped in high-grade thermal insulation. Between these walls, bare concrete slabs span the full 8 meters and offer a clear plane on which warmer timber elements define spatial moments. Closed and bare towards the North, light and fragile towards the South, the building is a composition of contrasts.

exploded view build-up concept diagram movie Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA photo interior kitchen void and balconies by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA photo interior kitchen with yellow staircase by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA photo interior roof terrace with awnings by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA daytime photo north grid facade by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA daytime photo south facade with balconies by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA construction detail north façade with concrete masonry Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA construction detail south façade concrete floor slabs and steel balcony Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA photo construction site concrete masonry grid facade Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA photo construction site with recessed sliding door detail Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

  • three generation house by BETA model photo showing configuration possibility image by Tim Stet
  • three generation house by BETA model photo showing configuration possibility image by Tim Stet
  • three generation house by BETA model photo showing configuration possibility image by Tim Stet
  • three generation house by BETA model photo showing configuration possibility image by Tim Stet

three generation house by BETA model photo showing configuration possibility image by Tim Stet

three generation house by BETA photo interior with mahogany closets in loft space by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA photo interior bathroom balcony by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA photo interior staircase with steel railings by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA plan ground floor drawing Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA plan first floor drawing Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA plan second floor drawing Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA plan third floor drawing Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA plan fourth floor drawing Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA longitudinal section drawing Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA photo interior bedroom with balcony by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA photo interior detail steel railing and yellow wall by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA photo interior window detail with concrete lintel masonry by Ossip Evert Klinkenberg Auguste Gus van Oppen

three generation house by BETA technical plan of first floor

Project Data

year

2014 – 2018

client

private

site

Buiksloterham, Amsterdam

program

450 m2 housing

status

built

collaborators

Huibert Spoorenberg (climate advisor), Huibers Constructieadvies (engineer), ATB Leerbroek (contractor), Sibe Visser (woodworker)

team

Auguste van Oppen, Evert Klinkenberg

photography

Ossip van Duivenbode (architecture), Tim Stet (model)

Press

Apple TV+ logo
new york times logo
https://www.dezeen.com/
http://www.archdaily.com/
http://www.domusweb.it/en/home.html
http://www.designboom.com/
RIBA publishers logo
gestalten logo
http://www.volkskrant.nl/
https://architectenweb.nl/
http://www.baunetz.de/
MONU logo
revista plot logo

Recognition

Abe Bonnema Prize logo
FRAME Awards 2020 logo
Amsterdam Architecture Prize 2019

Related Work

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La Manufacture

La Manufacture


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