Architectenbureau cepezed approached their Semi-Detached House design with a desire to achieve the maximum feeling of spaciousness in a relatively small 110 m² floor space per dwelling. To create as much volume as possible, the building is completely rectangular and designed for three storeys--the highest allowable height. Inside, all of the spaces have been organized around a diagonally situated service block containing the facilities and service areas on all three floors. This allowed for an unobstructed sight line and a sense that the rooms are actually larger than they really are. The ample glass outer facades and interior partitions add the feeling of spaciousness by drawing off the unfettered view. 

The house's structure is completely made of steel. The beams are constructed of rolled IPE-300 steel profiles, and the round columns are 140 mm in diameter, 4 mm thick steel. Both are grey metallic-coated. Much of the house's detailing is done in steel as well.

First-Time Ideas

Motivated by other industries where lightweight construction is important, various components were used for building construction for the first time in the cepezed Semi-Detached House construction. The insulated, stainless-steel sandwich panels used for the outer facade were inspired by refrigerated vans and further developed for housing use by cepezed. The panels are made of steel sandwich material with 1 mm, 516 stainless steel outer panels, and inner panels that are white-coated 0.8 mm steel plates. The portal-like windows on the second and third floors borrow their design and functionality from yacht construction. The aluminium sun shield slats on the glass facades also were used for the first time in a housing construction. A characteristic feature of the house is the four-meter-wide sliding front panels that connect to one another without an intermediate post on the south corners of the house. Electrical and data installations have been integrated in the columns and column bases of the supporting construction.

The floor system was invented by cepezed, in conjunction with Corus and Van Dam Plaatwerken. The system used in the Semi-Detached House was the precursor to a later version of the design, which cepezed calls the Integrated Deck Extra Space (IDES) floor system. It is extremely lightweight and less than 200 mm thick, including the finishing layers. It consists of profiled sheet piling filled with stabilizing sand with a covering layer of anhydrite.

The Semi-Detached House was built according to IFD principles: industrial, flexible, demountable. The dwelling can be built quickly using prefabricated components with little waste and with little neighborhood nuisance around the construction site. The use of lightweight materials promotes rapid seasonal warming or cooling for reduced energy use. The house can be easily extended or altered to accommodate the families' changing needs, and at end of use, it can easily be disassembled and much of the materials recycled.

However, that end of life may be long down the road. This residence is now 16 years old, and it looks exactly the same as when it was built. Apart from an occasional washing, the building's outer facade needs very little maintenance.

Architectenbureau cepezed is also the winner of the Living Steel International Competition for Sustainable Housing for the Warsaw, Poland location.

Key information

Number of storeys	3
Living area (m2)	220 m2
New construction

Location of steel solutions

Beams
Columns
Facades
Flooring system

Types of steel used in the building

IIE-300 steel profiles
516 profile