jib 122 – private house

client: private
location: Ijburg, Amsterdam, NL
size: 307 m2
status: completed
photographs: Marcel van der Burg

The Power of Simple Things

Close and compact are the residences lined up along the waterside of Grote Rieteiland, an artificial island in Amsterdams hip neighbourhood Ijburg.This plain and sober urban villa is developed within a strict and complex set of urban rules. The villa with its reduced design lives from its refined materialisation and level of detailing.The building is a composition of a horizontal plint for living and a vertical element comprising work spaces, bedrooms for the kids, a masterbedroom and above all a tremendous roof terrace. Due to a 12m wide glazed facade on the south side the main living area relates directly to the water. The house grants access via a patio facing the street and marking the threshold between public and private. The unusual materialisation of white painted raw timber boards of Douglas underlines the compelling power of simple things.