School House Apartments in Rotterdam by Eklund Terbeek

Dutch architecture practice Eklund Terbeek have transformed a 1912 former school building into six co-op apartments. Funded by a group of private investors, the apartments were part of the conversion of three former school buildings in Rotterdam West. Eklund Terbeek were tasked with both leading the overall project and renovating the 200sqm loft apartment in detail.

The apartment consists of two former classrooms and an adjacent hallway. The architects knocked through the dividing wall to create a large, open living space, and focused on enhancing the inherent qualities of the interior; monumental size, tall windows and distinctive original details. The apartment is lined by rows of sash windows, which create sightlines and an enhanced sense of spatiality and light. Characteristic mushroom shaped windows separate the hallway from the former classrooms. Contrasting the bright white washed walls and loadbearing beams, original concrete ceilings are left exposed.

5m high ceilings allowed for the insertion of box-like mezzanine floors. One is suspended above the lounge room area, containing a workspace accessed via a secluded set of stairs hidden behind a gridded timber bookshelf. A second mezzanine floor in the adjacent hallway zone provides space for two compact bedrooms, with alcove beds tucked into openings in the existing loadbearing wall. A third mezzanine floor sits above the former director’s room beside the entrance, which now serves as a guest room.

Contemporary fixtures contrast the building’s heritage bones. An oversized concrete kitchen island presides over one end of the apartment, beside an open dining area with a large timber table. Warm walnut timber is also used for the kitchen cabinetry, softening the stark white walls and concrete ceiling. An oversized extractor hood mirrors the mezzanine level opposite.

In the hallway and bathroom, Eklund Terbeek preserved the school’s original mustard yellow tiling, with a contrasting matte anthracite tile added in the bathroom. The five school toilet cubicles were preserved and given new functions, for example, one still containing a toilet, and another containing a shower. A mirrored rear wall gives a glimpse of the full length of the original school hallway.