Semi-detached houses

At a glance

Project by: Cepezed Architects
Location: Delft, Netherlands

Preview image

Semi-detached houses (Cepezed Architects)

© Cepezed Architects

Project images

	Iconic sketch © Cepezed Architects View project image
	Exterior © Cepezed Architects View project image
	Night view © Cepezed Architects View project image
	Large glass façades © Cepezed Architects View project image
	Kitchen © Cepezed Architects View project image
	Staircase © Cepezed Architects View project image
	Sketch © Cepezed Architects View project image
	Sketch floor system © Cepezed Architects View project image
	Rendering floor-façade © Cepezed Architects View project image

Architect's statement

Much-discussed and prize-winning semi-detached houses on the south edge of Delft, primarily oriented to maximum spaciousness. To create as much volume as possible, the building is completely rectangular and as high as is allowed. Inside, all the spaces have been organized around a diagonally situated service block containing the facilities and wet cells on all three floors. As a consequence, sightlines are long and the rooms appear larger than they actually are. Various vides inserted in the upper floors, and the façades and interior partitions, which are largely implemented in glass, contribute to an unprecedented feeling of spaciousness, certainly in combination with the view that stretches out tens of kilometres.

The technology and materialization are also distinctive. Partly inspired by other branches in which lightweight construction is of great importance, various components were used in housing construction here for the first time. The insulated, stainless-steel sandwich panels that were used for the façades were derived from the panels of refrigerator vans and further developed by cepezed. The aluminium Sunshield slats on the glass façades were also used in housing construction here for the first time. The windows borrowed their technology from yacht construction. The lightweight floors were invented by cepezed and consist of profiled sheet piling filled with stabilizing sand with a covering layer of anhydrite. The system is a precursor of the IDES floor installed in the cepezed office (see the relevant section).

Furthermore, a characteristic feature is the four-metre-wide sliding fronts that connect to one another without an intermediate post on the south corners of the house. Electrical and data installations have been integrated in the columns and column bases of the supporting construction.

Location: Straat Van Ormoes 147, Delft, Netherlands
Client: The Pesman And Van Seijen Families, Delft
Area: 220 m2
Realization: 1990
Photography: Fas Keuzenkamp & Peter De Ruig