Gedempte Gracht

opening up the kitchen

Location: Haarlem, The Netherlands
Scope: Kitchen renovation · Structural research · Design coordination

The goal was to create an open kitchen and living space by removing an existing wall, while keeping the desired layout intact.

To understand the existing structure, we retrieved the original drawings from the municipal archive. These revealed that an extension had been added in 1970, with a steel beam installed to support the existing facade.

Several contractors recommended adding a column in the middle of the planned kitchen island. To avoid this and preserve the intended layout, we worked with a structural engineer to calculate the required steel beam sizes.

The result is an open, connected living space with an uninterrupted kitchen island, allowing the original design vision to become reality.