This unique project is located facing the most ancient canal of Haarlem: The Spaarne.

The 36 m long plot connects the Spaarnwoudestraat with the water.

The existing one-floor storage space facing the canal created a significant urban void.

A new volume was required to connect the existing buildings.

Our proposal creates a smooth transition from the remaining warehouses and the residential area.

It is a singular volume with the shape of a house and the dimensions of an industrial building.

Extra-large vertical sliding windows open the view of the living room towards the Spaarne.

We chose hand made bricks and hand made ceramic roof tiles  (Petersen) for the materialization of the new volume.

The heaviness of the materials contributes to the characteristic monolithic presence of the new volume.

This new facade is extended towards the roof in order to hide a 100 m2 roof terrace situated above the living room.

A grand void connects both old and new parts and it brings light towards the central piece.

Location: Haarlem, NL

Client: Private

Surface: 540 m2

Program: Residencial housing & roof garden

Architect: Laura Alvarez Architecture B.V

Year: 2018-2020

Status: Built

Photography: ©photoarchitecture.com

"I grew up in the North of Spain not so far away from Villa Slow. I have really good memories of me and my family enjoying nature. This region of Spain has many of the things I always look for when I go on holidays: Mountains, sea, natural parks, hiking, quietness, culture and rich gastronomy. But I always felt I missed here a nice place to stay… a place where you can be warm when it is cold outside and be fully connected to the outside when the sun shines. So I thought: If I cannot find it, there will also be many people not able to find it too….Let’s design and build a beautiful place and share it with more people!… Being myself an architect, it was an opportunity I could just not let go…And this is how it all started."

Laura Alvarez

Villa Slow is designed and built with extreme mindfulness and care for detail. The house is very respectful with the environment. Its design is based on the traditional typology of a Pasiego House (Cabana Pasiega) but with a contemporary twist. The rough exterior stone walls and roofs contrast with the delicate interior wooden structure and details. Two big panoramic windows in the living room facing opposite directions create a beautiful scenography of mountains, clouds, and trees. The two rooms with their generous height are designed to allow different arrangements: just a couple, couple with children, friends, etc. Each room has its own bathroom fully equipped, barrier-free.  

THE WATER

Villa Slow is situated in a very special natural area well known for its spring water formation. The water of Villa Slow comes from its own spring.

A SUSTAINABLE HOME

Villa Slow pays extreme attention to sustainability. Villa Slow is provided with a heat pump, under floor heating and high quality insulation and windows for a minimum heat loss. All electronic appliances are A+++ and all lightning based on LED technology. The  high performance glass  warms up the interior in the winter and the big wooden shutters protect the summer from heat gain. All materials used to build Villa Slow are reused from the old stone shed or come from the area of Cantabria.

SUMMARY

Location: Valle del Miera, Cantabria, Spain

Client and developer: Laura Alvarez  www.villaslow.com

Photography: David Montero

Contractor: Soal Inversiones

Wood works: Carpinteria Astillero

Program: Holiday retreat

Area: 160 m² gross floor area

Year: 2014-2017

Status: Completed

The office building situated in G.H. Betzweg 1 in Rotterdam near Rotterdam Alexander station, dates from the eighties. In 2015 the building became vacant.

The challenge of this commission was to transform this building once again into an attractive office space, capable of winning over new tenants. Since the building was vacant, there was a limited budget and therefore there was no opportunity to execute a full renovation.

In order to provide our client with a good design solution, we did exhaustive research and analysis of the existing situation:

The building had no connection with the public realm. The ground floor was a parking lot. Therefore the contact between inside and outside was reduced to a small entrance area.

The entrance area was neither a representative space nor a space to meet.

Working areas had poor light conditions caused by the low windows with a height of 1,85 cm.

The colors chosen for the building were very cold and old fashioned, far from a modern look.

We did an exercise of acupuncture and only intervene in the main issues of the building.

In order to improve the contact with the public domain, the ground floor was extended. In this way, the new working areas got a direct connection with the street.

The entrance was transformed into a warm and welcoming space, including a podium for presentations and informal meetings.

To increase the allowance of natural light, the windows of all office spaces were enlarged, transforming the working areas into light and vibrant spaces.

Furthermore, the color palette was changed to a much warmer one that was also applied in the new facade panels.

SUMMARY

Location: Rotterdam Alexander, The Netherlands

Client: Private client

Area: 5500 m²

Program: Renovation and extension of an office building

Author: Laura Alvarez Architecture B.V.

Team: Laura Alvarez, Esmeralda Bierma, Maarten Kop (project architect), Arun Jansen, Mar Muñoz Aparici

Project management: Savills

Building technology: dGmR

Structural engineer: abt

Contractor: Ooijevaar bevlogen bouwers

Year: 2016-2018

Status: Completed

Photography: Nuvastgoed

Our project has two main goals. On one hand to transform the existing market hall into a vibrant and dynamic public space. On the other hand to redesign the derelict surrounding public space.

In order to do so, we propose a new multifunctional square with gardens and recreational areas. This new public space will also host fairs, events or gastronomical activities.

In the center of the square, a new programmed market hall will contribute to the new liveliness of the area.

The new FOOD lab

Food represents a big cultural heritage for Portugal. We have changed the way we buy, the way we eat. A traditional market can be nowadays enriched with new eating areas, spaces for gastronomic activities or weekly food fairs.

In order to create this new FOODlab, the existing building will undergo a major transformation.

A new roof creates a covered space to protect the goods and eating areas from the rain and the sun.

The ground floor in direct connection with the square is understood as a dynamic area with groceries, meat, and fish stalls. Around the central court, tapas bars and small food shops are organized. The central space is kept as a main empty space to allow sporadic events to take place. Wine tasting,  local product sales, etc could be organized in this area.

The upper floor on street level, host a more permanent program, with cafes, restaurants, a multifunctional space, and a co-cooking area.

SUMMARY

Location: Santo Tirso, Portugal

Client: Municipality of Santo Tirso, Portugal

Area: 4000 m² market hall, 25.000 m² public square

Program: New public square and conversion of the existing market hall into a FOOD lab containing a market, food court area, workshop areas, multifunctional spaces, cafe, restaurant, cooking school and cooks-in residence units.

Author: Laura Alvarez Architecture B.V.

Team: Laura Alvarez, Oihane Garcia, Leire Alvarez Marcos, Esmeralda Bierma, Arun Jansen, Mar Muñoz Aparici, Elise Nguyen, Aleksandra Shopova, Matteo Silverii, Marjolijn Vrolijk

Year: 2016-ongoing

Status: FIRST PRIZE, ongoing

Europan 13, International competition 2016

The Uptown Meat Club is a meat restaurant located in the city center of Amsterdam.

The client, passionate about Spanish food commissioned us with this interior design project with the idea of creating an informal and accessible restaurant with a Southern character but without neglecting the exclusive area where it is located.

The restaurant's interior concept sticks to the basic materials of wood and metal. Due to their combination, a warm yet robust tone is created.

The ground floor is divided into two zones which offer the guests both a lively and more intimate atmosphere to dine in. Either way, warm lights support the coziness of the restaurant.

A variety of hand made tiles that still coordinate in color, elongate the feeling of the space and provide a point of orientation.

SUMMARY

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Client: Uptown Meatclub

Surface: 500 m2               

Program: Bar & interior of the restaurant

Architect: Laura Alvarez Architecture B.V.

Year: 2015

Status: Completed

In 2011 we completed the renovation and interior design of a two-floor apartment in the city centre of Amsterdam. The building is catalogued as a national monument.

The main idea of the project was to transform the dark and claustrophobic existing apartment into a bright and spacious loft. The 70 m2 living area is located on the first floor. It is conceived as a continuous space capable of hosting different living activities without fragmenting them into separate rooms. An oak gray painted window bench provides a seat to enjoy the beautiful view towards the Amsterdam canals. Furthermore, this window bench functions as a storage cabinet. A walnut wood sliding door creates the possibility to close off the entrance hall from the living space.

ORIGAMI STAIRS

A light steel staircase creates the transition between cooking and dining area. Moreover a series of satin glass walls have been incorporated in the upper floor to bring natural light into the lower level and the bathroom.

CONTINUOUS SPACE

On the upper floor the guest room and the main sleeping room can be found. Both spaces are experienced as one large room that can be split into two in case needed.

The bathroom is situated in between these two rooms. Existing plaster walls have been removed in order to make the old roofbeams visible.

HIDDEN BEAUTY

An eleven meter long closet has been designed to be used as storage and a wardrobe. The existing colorful closet has been used to define the height of the closet and to break the long white line of the new furniture. Frameless doors and plinths flush with walls contribute to perceive the space as a sequence of pure and sharp surfaces.

SUMMARY

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Client: Private client

Area: 120 m²

Architect: Laura Alvarez Architecture B.V.

Constructor: Smart Interiors

Wood works: Kooijmans Interieurs

Photography: Ewout Huibers

Year: 2011

Status: Built

This apartment built in the '70s is located in a very quiet and green area in the city center of Amsterdam. It has a garden orientated towards SouthEast which provides light and a fantastic view towards the park.

The spaces are very clearly organized through a wooden box that separates day and night functions. It contains all the service spaces of a house such as storage, garderobe, toilet, boiler, etc.

By concentrating all these elements inside a box, we provide the house with clean and wide spaces for living.

LIGHT INBETWEEN

The bathroom is situated between the two bedrooms. It gets natural light from both sides. A small wooden window opens up towards the garden to connect the interior with the green garden.

OPEN  CLOSE

All doors of the house have been removed and replaced by sliding doors. By doing so, the user has the flexibility of opening and connecting all the spaces or closing them all. The epoxy continuous floor helps to understand this as a continuous space.

The old lowered ceilings have been removed and the old pipes remained visible. This adds a charming industrial look to the contemporary and clean interior design.

WHITE.WOOD.WARM

White paint color for the ceiling and walls, white furniture and lighting fixtures.

Light wood fixed furniture and pastel color bathroom tiles.

A striking red sofa as a counterpart.

SUMMARY

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Client: Private client

Area: 85 m²

Garden: 65 m²

Architect: Laura Alvarez Architecture B.V.

Photography: Ewout Huibers

Year: 2010

Status: Built

Home H is a two-floor villa on the hills of San Diego (USA) overlooking the sea. The bearing structure of an old villa has been preserved for the new house.

The almost 700 m2 house lays in a narrow plot. The two ends of the villa are connected with two green gardens of royal dimensions.

We proposed a volume with a clear facade towards the main garden. By dividing the facade into four equal spaces a calm volume is created.

Several functions such us entrance, library, kitchen and living room compose this facade.

Alternating terraces, double heights, and covered spaces create a very dynamic and three-dimensional facade.

We have taken special care regarding interior design.

All built-in furniture is made of walnut wood.

Wet areas are finished in mortex.

Non treated oak wood floors can be found in sleeping areas.

The limestone flooring of the common areas extends towards the garden, creating a seamless transition between inside and outside.

SUMMARY

Location: San Diego, USA

Client: Private client

Area: 650 m² Garden: 350 m²

Program: Private holiday house

Architect: laura alvarez architecture & C1

Team: Laura Alvarez, Esmeralda Bierma, Leire Muñoz Lampreabe, Manuel Osuna, Matteo Silverii

Year: 2015-2018

Status: Built

The UNESCO World Heritage Podium is a permanent exhibition where you can see, hear and read which UNESCO World Heritage sites can be found in The Netherlands and what makes them so exceptional. It is simultaneously the information centre for the Canal District of Amsterdam, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010. The Podium is situated in the central hall of the monumental building De Bazel in Amsterdam.

On exhibit are special objects from each of the Dutch World Heritage sites, such as a 16th century pair of compasses from the Canal District Amsterdam and a small divan table designed by Gerrit Rietveld.

The Podium consists of three sections.

An exhibition area where each site is represented by an object that indicates the age and location of each site and doubles as a base for the objects on display.

A podium that bridges the height difference between the central hall and the big window facing the street level of the Vijzelstraat. On the podium books on Dutch heritage can be found and read .

A series of banners with prints of historical paintings and maps of the Amsterdam Canal District are hung from the double height space above the podium. One banner functions as a projection screen and when lowered the podium turns into a small auditorium.

In terms of design and materialization the podium and the exhibition objects merge into each other in order to create one continuous landscape. All objects, stairs and bookcases are constructed out of birch multiplex, clad with black linoleum.

Text and drawings are directly printed on the lino with white ink.

Additional elements like a desk for an employee working at the Podium or an object showing video interviews with representatives of the different sites are clad with mirroring acrylic sheets in order to minimalize their presence.

SUMMARY

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Client: Bureau Wereld Erfgoed, Stichting Werelderfgoed, Rijksdienst voor het cultureel Erfgoed, National UNESCO commission

Program: World heritage visitors centre

Architect: Office Jarrik Ouburg & laura alvarez architecture

Team: Laura Alvarez, Jarrik Ouburg

Photography: Ewout Huibers

Year: 2013

Status: Built