Amsterdam is one of the European capitals that is most facing a period of urban transformation.
The arrival of a large number of students, entrepreneurs and a policy that supports the artistic world, has led to the development of new residential complexes located in the suburban districts adjacent to the city center.
These compounds, in many cases, are projected in order to provide specific services for these typologies of users.
Moreover, a key factor in the planning process of these housing schemes is the introduction of cultural hubs where the sociality and interaction between the residents grows and creates connections. Among these, there is WOW Lieven, located in the student housing complex Lieven, still under construction, in the New-West area of Amsterdam.
The interior design project Of the WOW Lieven Cultural Hub has been realized by the architect Carlo Alberto Monteverde.
The 200 square meter site is divided in 2 levels: the ground floor, intended as a dynamic and vibrant open space, and the first floor, a quieter area where are located offices and service rooms for the staff.
The main concept raised from the request of the client to create a meeting space for artists and visitors, that could become a working spot, but also an exhibition center and a place for interactions.
So, the idea takes shape as a crossing point, a space reduced to the essential, that could face several different uses in the time, in order to highlights the disparate expressions of the users.
The open space area at the ground floor is divided in three main areas, recognizable by a distinguished chromatic variation: at the entrance is located the blue area, mainly for concert and exhibitions; at the center, instead, there is the yellow area, with a bar and a shared desk; at the end there is the red area that is principally concerned for dining.
These divisions are composed of a series of simple plywood-finished open boxes, inspired by the “safe boxes” for the transportation of artworks, that assume different functions, depending on the events or the activities organized.
Beside this space there is the workshop, located inside a wooden unfinished-look frame structure, thought as a silent and secluded space for educational and debate use.
Furthermore, in the middle of the whole cultural hub, is positioned a sculpture designed ad hoc by the architect Carlo Alberto Monteverde.
The statue is basically one of the tools that is used the most by artists, the draft mannequin, who is represented in a human dreaming position.
For its realization the author decided to use a chrome finishing in order to mirror the surrounding environment.
The inner finishing of the wooden boxes, as the workshop one, are composed of laminated perforated panels that could be customized by the users by hanging artworks for temporary exhibitions or working tools.
The furniture selection belongs completely to the Amsterdam based design furniture label Lensvelt and is a homage to the Dutch design. A lounge seat projected by W.H. Gispen, one of the most renowned representatives of the past, is combined to a chair designed by of one of the most talented artists of nowadays, Maarten Baas.
In the workshop area, instead, the furniture is designed by Richard Hutten for Lensvelt, except for the table that has been produced by the designer’s studio itself.
The entire project could be completely disassembled and replaced in a different space, as a conclusion of a concept that finds its key values in temporality and transformation.
Carlo Alberto Monteverde is an Italian architect, born in Torino in 1993, graduated with honors at the Politecnico of Torino, now based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2020 he founded his own studio, Atelier Carloalberto. Among the activities he designs interiors for Lensvelt and in the past he worked as architect at Fabio Novembre Studio in Milan. He has been part of the international award-winning team SCUTxPolito during the Solar Decathlon China 2016 Competition.
Pictures are made by Peter Tijhuis.