Mobius House, Het Gooi, Netherlands

Related people

Natalie Martinez (was created by)
UN Studio (architect)

Date

1993-1998

Description

Using the diagram of the mobius band, a double-locked torus that appears to weave in and out of itself, as inspiration, Ben van Berkel and UN Studio brought human dimensions to the concept at this residence in Het Gooi, the Netherlands. Visualizing contemporary family life as a complex weaving of disparate threads that nonetheless must connect at different points in space and time, the architects implemented the mathematical model to organize work, social life, family life, and individual time into an intelligent pattern within this abstractly looping structure. "The structure of movement is transposed to the organization of the two main materials used for the house, glass and concrete, which move in front of each other and switch places, concrete construction becoming furniture, and glass facades turning into inside partition walls." (p. 106) "The mathematical model of the Mobius is not literally transferred to the building, but is conceptualized or thematized and can be found in architectural ingredients, such as the light, the staircase, and the way in which people move through the house. So, while the Mobius diagram introduces aspects of duration and trajectory, the diagram is worked into the building in a mutated way." (p. 106) "Legend: 1) Bedroom, 2) Studio, 3) Circulation, 4) Bathroom, ...8) Storage, ...16) Open space." (p. 112) Keywords: Netherlands, Gelderland, Het Gooi, Mobius House, Dutch, residence, living, working, sleeping, torus, mathematical.

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