UNStudio and Bauwerk unveil the design of Van B, a new residential project in Munich that offers a completely new concept of urban living focused on making the home as flexible as possible.
The new Van B residential project presents a completely new form of housing that imagines the future of urban living, giving residents the ability to reconfigure their homes when necessary.
To create this flexibility, the flats are designed around a modular plugin-based system, where elements such as a bed, storage space or work areas can be conveniently slid away when not needed.
Ben van Berkel, founder and principal architect of UNStudio, says Van B offers a completely new form of ‘smart’ living, thanks to a reinterpretation of the digital world.
“Our homes have to meet different needs and take on more functions: places to rest, but also as offices, schools, gyms and more, flexibility has become more important than size.”
The Van B plugin system makes it easy to change the use of the same space in seconds, making it possible to transform a room from a generous office into a cosy living room, or a bedroom.
“Individual spaces in our homes have had to become multifunctional, serving as offices, gyms, living rooms and sleeping corners, all at the same time,” says van Berkel. “This means that now, more than ever, we have to develop new living concepts that meet the changing needs of our homes.”
The flexibility lies in the fact that each element can function in different configurations and that the resident can choose an individual plug-in configuration based on a catalogue of nine elements.
To achieve this, each element was based on a grid system, consisting of modules that allow the owner to configure the spaces within the flat according to his or her preferences.
Also essential to the design was the creation of connections between people and nature, and the use of outdoor space as an extension of living areas.
Van B offers a variety of flat types and sizes, including studios and three-bedroom flats, gallery lofts and rooftop flats, each catering to different demographic groups and constellations of residents.
Info unstudio.com
PROGRAMME: residential & office
UNSTUDIO: Ben van Berkel with Jan Schellhoff and Julia Gottstein, Bart Chompff, Alexandra Virlan, Dimitra Chatzipantazi, Ana Maldonado, Patrik Noomé
CLIENT: Bauwerk Capital GmbH & Co. KG
LOCATION: Munich
BUILDING SURFACE: 15.945 m2 total (9.905 m2 above ground)
BUILDING VOLUME: 51.380 m3 total (29.807m3 above ground)
BUILDING SITE: 2.419 m2
STATUS: under construction
LOCAL ARCHITECT: BKLS Architekten
LANDCAPE ARCHITECT: Andreas Kübler und Partner
COST AND QUANTITY SURVEYING: Leitwerk AG
STRUCTURE: Ingenieurgesellschaft albrecht + brettfeld mbh
MEP: IB Schmidbauer Planungsgesellschaft Haustechnik mbH & MTM-Plan GmbH
FIRE SAFETY: Brandschutzservice Zobel GmbH
VISUALIZATIONS: Bloomimages
