LOUIS

Renovation and extension of a private house

In the northwest of Brussels a row house from 1950 is renovated and extended. The plan of the existing house is rethought and reorganised to fulfil the current and future needs of its residents. On ground floor the principle of the typical enfilade is strengthened and continued by the addition of a volume which extends the living area and by a sequence of three open-air rooms: the terrace, the kitchen garden and the playground. Seeking for a dialogue with its context, the asymmetric volume is conceived as two concrete portals connected by a dense series of wooden beams orienting the perspective outwards. In the existing house a horizontal concrete slab connects the two rooms providing a counter for both the kitchen and the living area. A semi-transparent wire-glazed wardrobe divides the entrance hall from the living area. The recurrence of a limited set of materials in different areas and functions of the house not only emphasizes their own qualities but sets the project as a cohesive whole: a subtle dialog between tradition and innovation.

location Brussels, BE | client private | program single-family house extension | surface 200m2 | budget confidential | date 2015 | phase built