Vertical Loft in Netherlands

Shift Architecture Urbanism always has a knack for carving more space out of an already seemingly small area.

This loft in Rotterdam is a perfect example of putting their name to the test, and there’s certainly many uses for the space in this small, narrow, Netherlands loft.

The large, tall bookcases really are the pieces of the puzzle that allow the space to be broken up, and the main level is the public area comprised of the kitchen and living spaces.

Privacy increases as you move upward in the loft– and it’s a sweet space that allows for a whole lot of design in as little as some simple bookcases by design.

The extreme makeover of the house is combined with a selective preservation of elements of the old casco. Industrial materials such as the phenol coated multiplex of the closet and the polyurethane flooring are balanced by the longitudinal brick wall that is left bare, the stained glass and the original doors that are restored and re-used. The roughness of the wall, full with traces of the past, tells stories about the continuous makeovers that the house has undergone in the last hundred years.