1900s Rotterdam house, once run-down, becomes two sleek apartments

A derelict 20th-century building in Rotterdam was rescued by local design studio Shift Architecture Urbanism and transformed into two sleek apartments that hint at the old structure’s past.

The two apartments occupy the bottom and top two floors, respectively, of the four-story house and each include a dining room on the street side, kitchen in the middle, and an open-plan living area positioned at the back of the house, where glazing makes up most of the wall.

While the architects were able to restore the home’s street-facing facade, the rear was too run-down to preserve that they decided to tear it down and create an entirely new facade. This allowed them to extend the building backward into the garden, opening up the internal area of the apartments.

A galvanized steel frame makes up the new wall, which features sliding glass doors on the lower level, floor-to-ceiling windows on the floor above that, and three glass double-doors on the third floor. The top floor is illuminated by three skinny windows.

The interiors are spare, with pale hardwood floors and white walls accented by steel sheeting, built-in storage, and plywood in parts. A section of old exposed brick runs down the side of the building, and bedrooms are contained in box-like structures, which is why the building is called Matryoshka House. Take a look.

Via: Dezeen