Loft Exhibition Freebooter by GG-loop

Zeeburgereiland in the east of Amsterdam will soon be enriched with a ship. A ship to live in, that is.. The final touch is currently being made on the construction of Freebooter, the first ever house in Amsterdam designed by the Italian architect Giacomo Garziano. The research into the location’s history and the relation with the water inspired Garziano to design a home with a narrative. The Amsterdam Architecture Centre will display this narrative on its top floor from 14 November 2018.

Garziano, who is based at the Brouwersgracht with his studio GG-loop, is both architect and developer of the duplex. With a construction of wood and steel, Freebooter is built up onsite in only three weeks (with circa five months of construction in total). On display in the small exhibition on our top floor is a wonderful time-lapse of the built-up, next to a 360° video, sketches, drawings, renders, construction photos and an amazing scale model, crafted in wood.

Garziano: “When I first visited the area, I immediately realized its potential. The vision of the urban plan is rich and articulated. It offers all the functionalities that a new area should have. The relation with the water, the openness, the proximity to the city centre and to the A10 and the openness makes it a great place to live. Freebooter was born out of the main elements that characterise the area. It used to be a place where boats were constantly present. Hence the architectural references to ship engineering. With this building I want to bring back the historic memories of the area and give the new inhabitants the feeling of belonging to it since centuries ago.”