A house on a dike in Amsterdam was reconverted for a young family. Since its construction in 1920, the house had been extended in a series of projects that enlarged the house but created poor lighting conditions and fragmented rooms. The central spatial idea was to break out the middle of the house and create a patio around which a new spatial configuration could be designed.
At the ground floor, which is at the elevation of the dike, a roof terrace is extended around the patio, creating vertically connected open spaces with different atmospheres and microclimates. To make full use of the light created by the breakthroughs, custom-designed stairs were constructed to be as light and transparant.
The patio is designed to create natural ventilation through the stack effect. Furthermore, high insulation, solar panels, and a heat pump create a house that is extremely energy efficient despite its old age.
