mass design materializes a wave in wood for lighthouse atop amsterdam boat

a wavy interior space, the lighthouse, created by mass design crowns the top of a 1920s houseboat in amsterdam. a wooden wave inside the former wheel house forms a writing shack, reading room and champagne bar with a 360 view that spans the canals. at night, its light is a glowing beacon in the former docklands, while providing an enclosed space for relaxing.

mass design renovated the last room in the century-old boathouse, and created this rooftop space for the two-people home. the old wheel house sat at the top-front end of the boat as an empty box with stunning views over the harbor. ‘the space was begging to be transformed into a conceptual crown on top of all our work’, say the ship owners.

‘we commissioned mass design for a multifunctional interior that catered to working, relaxing and entertaining. we wanted a very pragmatic approach to designing this small 10m2 interior but it also needed to have the boldness of an art piece’. the result was a wooden wave that took the shape of water the boat travels on and froze it in time.

the curvy envelope was designed around the different functions of the room. ‘the interior mimics the waves it used to travel on, undulating throughout the room. everything flows together; seating to tables, tables to walls, creating one continuous surface in which even the ceiling participates,’ say the designers.

in a radial array around the room, vertical wooden panels were cnc milled to form the organic bench and ceiling structure. a total of 648 individual panels were milled, processed and assembled into modules without screw or glue. when placed in the room, the wedge shape of the modules acts as a keystone, fixing the entire structure in place. this way, the installation was done quickly by the designers and the clients themselves.

in the center of the room is the sun-light, which is designed to be completely app controlled, so no switches or panels interrupt the flowing form of the interior. using voice or app control, it can illuminate the space in a variety of different settings to fit the mood of the boathouse.

mass design is a group of deep thinkers who share a vision for a better world. as an interdisciplinary design network, brought together by their shared values and beliefs, they operate in multiple fields. including design, medicine, architecture, engineering, art and technology, their wide range of expertise leads to different kinds of projects. the group takes new opportunities to create architecture, products and experiences with heightened levels of emotive experience.

project info:

project name: the lighthouse

designers: mass design

project location: amsterdam, netherlands

photography: maylan van der grift  

drone footage: the light spectrum

makerspace: contact makerspace amsterdam