Dutch Merry Go Round Inside Out House Doesn't Spin

"ira koers: merry go round studio, the netherlands"
designboom (October 14, 2009)

"dutch firm ira koers have sent in images of their latest project 'merry go round'. the holiday cottage uses a traditional floor plan, with its rooms opening onto a central hallway and turning it inside out...."

as you can see by the lack of capitalization, this is a very sophisticated and artistic website.

nextthingyouknowtheyllomitpunctuationandspacestoo But e e cummings didn't do that, so I suppose the artistic set won't, either. They're almost stodgy in their adherence to tradition, in a way.

The stylistic oddities of the text shouldn't get in the way: There's not all that much text - but quite a number of impressive photos. And, even more impressive, a floor plan, elevations, and a diagram of the cottage's interior in isometric perspective.

A large portion of the cottage's floor space is devoted to the hallway which runs along all four exterior walls: not exactly an efficient design, in terms of materials or traffic, but it's definitely different. And could be seen as increasing the internal privacy of the residence.

I'm not sure what I think of the slit-like windows. When I'm inside, I like to be able to look out and see more than one tree trunk at a time. But, tastes differ.

Still, as a novelty cottage, this project is quite impressive. And, as a piece of sculpture, attractive in its own way.

Interstingly, despite the "merry go round" name, the cottage does not appear to rotate. Perhaps the name lost something in translation.