MVRDV transforms outdated office into residence anchored by courtyard

MVRDV has completed Villa Stardust, a private home that began as a former commercial building. Inspired by the traditional Moroccan riad, the interior living spaces of the villa are oriented around a central patio space and courtyard.  Designed as an outdoor "living room," the 230-square-meter outdoor courtyard allows generous amounts of natural light into the dwelling and provides ample means of ventilation. The home as a whole is roughly 1,000 square meters and provides plenty of space to house both the family of five that resides within it in addition to a small medical practice run by the owner. As a retrofit building, the villa incorporated many recycled materials in the patio's flooring, including re-purposed terracotta tiles. "The residents asked us to design the villa after they had already bought the building; I think it's very clever that, as non-architects, they understood its potential," said Nathalie de Vries, co-founder of MVRDV in a statement. Moreover, MVRDV partner ...