Didden Village

The ways to utilize the rooftop are so many and so different. The blue poly-urethane coating a new ‘heaven’ is formed. It creates a crown on top of the house.

On top of an existing historic house and atelier, the bedrooms are positioned as separate volumes, small houses in a rooftop village, creating privacy for every member of the family. The houses are distributed in such a way that a series of plazas, streets and alleys increase the feeling of a village on top of a building. Parapet walls with windows surround the new village. Trees, tables, open-air showers and benches are added, optimizing the rooftop lifestyle.

The bedrooms are positioned as separate houses, creating the privacy of every member of the family (one for parents and two adjoining children’s rooms). The houses are accessed via a suspended spiral staircase from the loft-like living room. The two spiral stairs to the two children’s houses coil around each other to form a double helix stairs. The houses are placed on the large rectilinear roof surface in such a way that they form a small number of outdoor spaces (houses, squares, streets and lanes) that make up a rooftop village.

“The addition can be seen as a prototype for the further densification of the existing city. It adds a roof life to the city. It explores the costs for the beams, infrastructure, and extra finishes, and it ultimately aims to be lower in cost than the equivalent ground price for building“, said MVRDV.

LIVING ROOM INTERIOR

Project Information:
Architect : MVRDV
Location : Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Project Year : 2002-2006
Total Area : 45m2 rooftop extension to private residence with 120 m2 terrace
Client : Didden Family
Design Team : Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, Nathalie de Vries with Anet Schurink, Marc Joubert, Fokke Moerel and Ivo van Cappelleveen
Structure : Pieters Bouwtechniek, Delft NL: Jan Versteegen
Stairs : Verheul Trappen, Montfoort NL
Blue finish : Kunststof Coatings Nederland B.V. Zevenhuizen NL
Constructor : Formaat Bouw, Sliedrecht NL