Huis no. 19 | Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten

Within the framework of the municipal art organization, ‘Beyond’, various international artists will be invited to stay and work for a limited period of time in the largest recent city extension of Utrecht, Leidsche Rijn. Their task will be to observe and react to the growing and rapidly changing city from various perspectives. The accommodation for these artists, which is part of the municipal art programme, is a mobile studio, that will change its location several times during the course of the planned activities.

The simple space doesn’t aim at being a piece of art in itself, but mainly offers a practical and affordable place to stay. Rather than minimizing size and weight as one would expect from a mobile home, the aim of the design was to maximise its dimensions and functionality. Despite its mobility, the building is big, robust and durable. It consists of one long space that can be subdivided into different interior and exterior spaces. It’s a house to be used in many ways: as a hotelroom, studio or hospitable dwelling with a big table, plenty of daylight and as much privacy as one needs.

The construction of the object is simple: walls, floor and roof have entirely been made of solid, laminated sheets of wood, stabilized by two steel frames. It was assembled on site within a few days. The timber panels are then covered with additional thermal insulation and a laminated timber rainscreen. The object is sturdy, heavy and environmentally friendly, and sufficiently stable to be lifted and transported in one piece, with dimensions that permit transportation on public roads.

During transportation or if the guest desires so, the object can be completely closed up, just lit from above. When the large shutters are opened the introverted house gets a completely different character, with large parts of the elevations turning into terraces, ramps and podia. The timber interior then becomes part of its surrounding and the artist presents him/herself and his/her work to the city.

The project was developed collaboratively with the Rotterdam based artists BikvanderPol.