concept hut village in Heijplaat, Rotterdam

With stichting Kunsteiland we are building huts in the playground at Heijplaat, with materials donated by the builders and demolishers active in the neighbourhood. A large part of the houses there are being torn down, and new better ones will be built. During this proces stichting Kunsteiland wanted to do something positive for the residents and created this childrens project with a lot of reuse of materials.
Children are building happily to make their own dreamhome...

demolishing the ceiling

nothing works better to fight off the cold than a bit of physical labour. demolished the ceiling where we are going to build the new bedroom. This will give more headroom and extra cupboard space. only doing the rough outlines, so my partner (lovingly referred to as the furniture-fascist) can do the precision work. have to use everyone's best qualities, right?

Fred & Wilma in de Vinexwijk - maak van je huis een zelfvoorzienend paradijs -

finished my meeting today, walked back to Amsterdam Central Station, passed some nice shops and bought an interesting book on the way. it combines old methods and new inventions for living sustainable yet fashionable combined with living in a modern city. lots of tips how to do things like make cheese, filter water, heat your house, brew your own beer, live slower and more connected. living this way simplifies your life, as it is cheaper and you don't have to work too hard to earn money to buy stuff you can make yourself.
like it!

Controlled demolition

started demolishing the wall between kitchen and bedroom as start of our plan to build a new bedroom. breaking down piece by piece and throwing away plaster every time I had a full crate. very controlled work if i may say so. (neighbours might not agree)

(w)all gone! a lot faster when you work together.

Parttime bedroom

For many years now i have been fascinated by everything that folds, collapses or is otherwise compact and multifunctional. In my current home this comes in handy as we are living with 2,5 persons in a space suitable for 1.

Since my partner comes with a son who lives with us for 3 days a week, we lack at least one bedroom. Therefore we have been sleeping in the livingroom for as long as we live here. Getting permission to expand into the garden takes more time than we hoped, so now we will start the new year by creating an extra bedroom inside.

We will build a compact capsule bedroom, that folds to bed-size 4 days a week when the resident is absent.
Deadline is the end of januari 2010.