Contributor
Superuse Studios

2005
Villa Welpeloo - Enschede - Netherlands

Villa Welpeloo is the residence and art studio for a couple with the wish to store
and show a collection of paintings and graphical work of young contemporary artists.
The architects aspired to use as much surplus materials as possible: 60% of the house is made up of from materials found in the surroundings of the site.
The materials were found in the industrial area: the steel was sourced from machinery
previously used in textile production and the wood for the facade was taken from damaged cable reels, that were first heat-treated by a process called “Plato” to weatherize them.
This wood would traditionally be turned into particleboard or worse incinerated, effectively shortcutting the usefulness of the material.
For the interior, all the electrical wiring for appliances and lighting has been hidden inside the walls. The furnishings is also made from industrial materials: in the inside of drawers and cupboards there is a materialization of building signage.
An elevator for the transport of goods is incorporated in the studio and hidden from sight; it is the building elevator that was used during the construction of the steel frame.
The waste materials provided a continuous stream of new incentives to develop and refine the design.
The desire to salvage materials also led to the design process being conducted in parallel with the materialization process and an awareness of the resources available locally influenced the way the architects actually designed the building.

[project selected by Ludovica Di Betta]

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Architecture as Resource / Imprint