Industrial Nature
It is many people's dream to live amongst nature, even if it is within a city. Studioninedots, an architectural practice from Amsterdam, was faced with just such a request. Their client wanted to build a family home on a plot of land in Strijp R, a semi-industrial part of Eindhoven where a disused Philips factory complex is located. This edgy location offers plenty of industrial references for the architects to incorporate into their design, resulting in an intriguing balance of industry and nature - hence the "fifty-fifty" in the name of the villa.
The house is conceived in two parts: an L-shaped glass pavilion with a heavy slab roof set at a jaunty angle, and a three-storey rectangular tower. The latter contains two small bedrooms for the children, whilst the former houses the main living areas and the master suite, arranged as interlinked "boxes" set around a courtyard. This allows for fluid movements and sight lines between the different rooms, as well as between the rooms and the courtyard. This works especially well for the dining room, with its expansive skylights and folding glass wall, creating a seamless indoor-outdoor transition.
The industrial inspirations behind the villa are clear to see, from the choice of materials (shiny aluminium cladding of the tower, corrugated plastic wall of the circular shed, plenty of concrete and glass) to the grid-like layout of the rooms. However, nature looks surprisingly at ease in this manmade environment, whether in the form of a tree punctuating the roof or the "wild" garden inside the courtyard. Proof, if any is needed, that, given time, nature conquers all.
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Product Inspiration
For an industrial look which references nature try the Hygge lounge chair from Collector, the Iron Maiden sofa from Diesel Living and the Up In The Air side table from Viccarbe.
Bring the nature indoors with the Twee T. suspension light from Casamania, the Raindrop suspension light from LZF and the Scraplight Nest suspension light from Graypants.
Mix industrial and natural references with accessories such as the concrete Nuclear Plant Holder from Lyon Beton, the Florida bowl from Ghidini 1961 and the Sphere Vase Square Hexa from 101 Copenhagen.
