Sculptural, elegant and decisive: Plusminus lights a home in Utrecht

The new build project for a two-storey semi-detached home features a ground floor dedicated to living spaces while the upper floors accommodate the bedrooms. And the kitchen area on the ground floor is conceived as the most important space, thanks to the double height breakfast nook, the table of which is the family’s favourite corner to start the day getting the first sun rays that filter through the exterior façade.

This quest for wellbeing throughout the day, starting with the morning’s first coffee perfectly illustrates the importance for this family of the lighting project that includes time spent together after dark. An approach that is reflected by the ingenious interior design project and at the same time capable of creating subtle calming ambiences that help create the warm feelings that a home like this transmits over the course of a day.

Architect Joost Woertman designed an interior based on natural materials, such as the walnut cladding panels, and a carefully studied combination of colours, reflecting current trends, bearing in mind that the owners are a youthful couple with two children who love this house, especially the playful configuration of the various levels.

The design of the kitchen, which is divided into two areas, places the table at the centre of the space with the void overhead given pride of place within the lighting scheme, taking advantage of the sculptural opportunities provided by the double height space. Along these lines, “the Plusminus light fitting from Vibia becomes the focal point, both literally and figuratively, within this very special zone of the home,” outlines the architect.

Meanwhile for the authors of the lighting scheme, lighting design practice Lichtadvies 010, were able to create a sophisticated illumination that reflects the uniqueness of the home. The solution was provided by Plusminus which they considered “the perfect system for creating a continuous flow for different lighting environments using a single element, subtly and elegantly connecting different spaces,” they explain, also taking the colour choice into account, that is perfectly coordinated with the materials featured in the project.

The challenge of successfully lighting an unusual double height space, traversed by the fabric belt to which different light fittings are attached, some spherical, providing ambient lighting, another hanging fitting with a more directed beam, was made possible thanks to the innate versatility of Plusminus, designed by Diez Office for Vibia, satisfying the disparate needs of both the space and its use.

The visually impacting terracotta colour of the fabric belt, in contrast to the darker tones of the surrounding walls, is complimented by the sensual glow of the lighting projected over each of the home’s two levels, individually tailored, but sharing the same objective: to provide the correct, and desired, ambient wellbeing for enjoying family time together.

Within another space of the house the same system is installed but at a much smaller scale. In this case Plusminus is provided with smaller lights arranged along the belt, focusing the light beam in different directions and generating a welcoming corner through a more tenuous illumination.

The selected dark colour, which matches the Venetian blinds, on the white wall makes it look like a sculptural vertical light fitting that also adds visual dynamism to the space, albeit in a more intimate way.

Credits:
– Architecture: Joost Woertman
– Lighting Design: Lichtadvies 010
– Photography: Myrthe Slootjes