“If the weather is good you will lose your jumper, which in this case is the wooden shell.”
Love this indoor/outdoor cottage designed by Caspar Schols, a physicist by training who works for a tech firm. Caspar had no formal architectural training when he took on the project and perhaps thats why it came out so well? Forget a skylight to look at the stars as you fall asleep in bed…this dude can slide back his entire roof and walls:
When his mother began talking about putting a prefab in her backyard, Caspar Schols– a physicist by training- was working at a tech firm, but had always loved architecture and asked if he could design her something special.
Wanting to create a home that you could change as easily as you change your clothes, Schols built the home in a series of shells on a wooden platform. The outer layer is insulated wood panels that slide open to reveal a glass greenhouse pavilion for hanging out or entertaining on colder days. The glass shell can also be rolled back to create an open-air dining, lounging or performance space. With more rolling, one can create other configurations, like the dinner party mode (wood in the middle, glass on the outside to create a covered space to fit a long table and 30 guests).
With no architecture training (at the time), Schols spent 8 months building the structure himself (with occasional help from family and friends). He set each shell on 8 small wheels which fit into tracks in a wooden platform. Into the floor he built-in pop-up beds and cabinets to hide outlets and he even had plans for a pop-out bathtub. Though after his mother and guests slept on the pop-up beds a few times they deemed them uncomfortable and he replaced them with furniture from the neighbor (who just happens to be designer Piet Hein Eek).
