ira koers completes twinhouse as part of DIY masterplan

ira koers completes twinhouse as part of DIY masterplan
all images courtesy of bureau ira koers

on the site of a former slaughterhouse near the dutch city of leiden, bureau ira koers has completed ‘twinhouse’ part of a DIY housing district masterplanned by MVRDV. consisting of 40 compact residential blocks, each 6 meters wide and 12 meters deep, the design team acquired two neighboring plots on which to build the dwelling. both ‘twins’ take advantage of the double lot, allowing a 90-degree turn to their first floors. on each floor, the identical, interlocking semi-finished units have a different typology and orientation.

the ground floor consists of an open-plan layout with a stairway at the halfway point leading to the rotated upper level. at the first storey, the units are placed in a back-to-back composition that can be opened across the entire expanse of the long façades. on the roof, there is a freestanding construction, a penthouse, comprised of rooms of various sizes and heights. the rooms on the roof are positioned so that they fit within the slanting contours of the building envelope, leaving additional space for a number of additional sheltered areas on the terrace. turning the floors makes the spatial flow feel surprisingly roomy and the interior adventurous. viewed from the street, the twins unassumingly appear to be a single house. in terms of material, 11 bricks of various sizes and fabrications were selected. the ochre-coloured blocks are laid intermittently so that they give the elevations a handmade look.

on each floor, the identical, interlocking semi-finished units have a different typology and orientation

spacious volumes are brightly and naturally lit

internal circulation routes

brickwork detail

scheme development

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level +1

floor plan / level +2

sectional drawings

project info:

name: twin house
area: 360 sqm
site: 144 sqm
design: bureau ira koers

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.