Wooden interior of a modern building with open staircases, metal railings, and natural light streaming through slatted walls. The design features exposed beams and a view of the outdoor courtyard.

Juf Nienke circular & modular housing

RAU & SeARCH architecture and urbanism

Modern apartment building with stacked, boxy units, large windows, wood and metal finishes, and a central open staircase. The building stands under a clear blue sky, with a sidewalk and street in front.
A modern multi-story building with wooden balconies overlooks a landscaped garden featuring gravel paths, green plants, and wooden picnic tables. The sky is partly cloudy.
A wooden outdoor apartment walkway with doors on the right, metal mesh stairs on the left, and sunlight casting shadows through the open beams above.
Wooden walkways, doors, and windows are visible through a metal mesh fence in a modern building with natural light and intersecting shadows.
Modern multi-story apartment building with wood and black panels, featuring balconies with glass railings. Trees and landscaped greenery are visible in the foreground. A person walks along a path below.
Close-up of a wooden structure with a metal wire mesh fence, featuring bolts and cables. Green leaves are blurred in the foreground, partially obscuring the view. The wood tones and mesh create a modern architectural look.
An exterior view of a modern wooden apartment building with metal mesh railings, multiple balconies, and a young tree planted in front. Staircases are visible along the right side of the structure.
A person walks a dog up a grassy path in front of a modern, multi-story building with wooden balconies and large windows, while another person stands on a balcony above.
A lush garden with tall grasses, trees, and paths is in front of a modern multi-story building with balconies. A person in blue walks along a path in the greenery.
A person walks along a wooden corridor with metal railings in a modern multi-story building featuring exposed wood beams and doors leading to individual units.
A person with long hair and gray clothing walks on the balcony of a wooden building, partially hidden by trees and plants in the foreground.
Modern building facade with alternating light and dark wood panels, large windows with wooden frames, and geometric shadows cast by the sun, creating an interesting pattern.

Images

Modern apartment building with stacked, boxy units, large windows, wood and metal finishes, and a central open staircase. The building stands under a clear blue sky, with a sidewalk and street in front.
A wooden outdoor apartment walkway with doors on the right, metal mesh stairs on the left, and sunlight casting shadows through the open beams above.
A modern multi-story building with wooden balconies overlooks a landscaped garden featuring gravel paths, green plants, and wooden picnic tables. The sky is partly cloudy.
Wooden walkways, doors, and windows are visible through a metal mesh fence in a modern building with natural light and intersecting shadows.
Modern multi-story apartment building with wood and black panels, featuring balconies with glass railings. Trees and landscaped greenery are visible in the foreground. A person walks along a path below.
Close-up of a wooden structure with a metal wire mesh fence, featuring bolts and cables. Green leaves are blurred in the foreground, partially obscuring the view. The wood tones and mesh create a modern architectural look.
An exterior view of a modern wooden apartment building with metal mesh railings, multiple balconies, and a young tree planted in front. Staircases are visible along the right side of the structure.
A person walks a dog up a grassy path in front of a modern, multi-story building with wooden balconies and large windows, while another person stands on a balcony above.
A lush garden with tall grasses, trees, and paths is in front of a modern multi-story building with balconies. A person in blue walks along a path in the greenery.
A person walks along a wooden corridor with metal railings in a modern multi-story building featuring exposed wood beams and doors leading to individual units.
A person with long hair and gray clothing walks on the balcony of a wooden building, partially hidden by trees and plants in the foreground.
Modern building facade with alternating light and dark wood panels, large windows with wooden frames, and geometric shadows cast by the sun, creating an interesting pattern.

The Juf Nienke apartment building demonstrates how modular and circular principles can result in an expressive and appealing residential project. The building is composed of stacked prefabricated timber units that together form a coherent and dynamic whole.

Standardization is balanced with variation, resulting in architecture that is flexible, demountable and future-proof, without sacrificing spatial quality or character.

In my photography and videography, the focus is on the building as a unified composition. Attention to human scale, the timber construction and the relationship with the collective garden reveals how the project is experienced by its residents. The modular system remains legible but subordinate to the architectural whole.

Category

Housing

Architect

RAU & SeARCH architecture and urbanism

Year

2021-2025

Location

Amsterdam, NL

Juf Nienke circular & modular housing RAU & SeARCH architecture and urbanism