TOOP architectuur transforms shipping containers into pair of offices in belgium

TOOP architectuur has transformed a set of low-budget shipping containers into COTOOP diptych, a pair of architectural offices in westouter, belgium. the two structures have been developed to answer the spatial requirements of two different sites: part one is designed for the characteristics of a typical row house plot in the city center; while part two has a very different surrounding as it is part of a rural plot of the hilly countryside. placed at the end of a city garden, the first architectural lab reflects and thus enlarges the garden through a huge sliding window. at the same time, the second volume is clad in mirroring aluminum panels with the intention of disappearing into the landscape.

all images © tim van de velde

‘in need of more office space on two different locations for our architecture studio, we tried to give an answer to important matters today,’ explains TOOP architectuur. ‘can we really create flexible office spaces? how should something like an office act in its surrounding? how do we as architects expose ourselves to future clients? can we create interesting movable offices that give different answers to different places within 1 concept?’ the belgian architects have found the answer to these questions in the low-budget shipping container, a movable, flexible structure that can easily be placed everywhere while having a a strong formal identity by the recognizable dimensions.

the two architectural offices are part of a diptych that gives different, site-specific answers to the two locations. the first one is designed for a typical row house plot in the city center, where it occupies the end of a city garden. its construction reflects and enlarges the garden through a huge sliding window, which triggers the attention of passersby that catch a glimpse of the glass façade behind the trees in the garden. in darker periods of the year the office becomes part of the interior of the shop laying at the street side of the plot, by becoming visible at the back of the garden.

both parts of the diptych are called architectural labs, and form the intellectual hearts of the architects’ office, where visitors and the team can work together and get inspired by materials, the surroundings, and each other. part of a rural plot of the hilly countryside, the second volume is built with the intention of disappearing into the landscape through the reflective materials used on its outer skin. by cladding the exterior skin with mirroring aluminum panels the landscape is reflected from every angle and the office takes over the color of the environment. precisely chosen openings enhance the connection between the interior and the landscape: one is oriented towards a nearby laying hill; the other is framing a small forest at the end of the plot.

a common element that links the two offices together is the interior design, which gives TOOP architectuur a strong visual identity that works for a city environment as well as for a rural area. cladding both in low-budget red plywood, which is mostly used as a construction material and not often as a visual element, the architects wanted to show visitors the possibility of doing interesting things with affordable materials. the dimensions of the plywood panels are also used as a module, as they form the base for the width of the desks, the bookshelves, etc. they are placed with negative joints so that the untreated steel ribbons can be placed in between, forming the vertical elements of the bookshelves without having to screw anything. this makes is possible to easily deconstruct the bookshelves and reuse the materials.