delmulle delmulle architecten . photos: © cafeine.be
A renovation of a small corner house in the center of Ghent. A project for myself and my family. The modest corner house overlooks the merging of the rivers Schelde and Leie. On every floor the house has a unique view on the Portus Ganda.
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For the house, an unconventional arrangement was chosen.
The kitchen, dining room and sitting room are housed on the second and third floor; while the bedrooms are on the ground floor and the first floor.
This ensures a lot of privacy in the living areas and accordingly the windows don’t need to be blinded. Shielding the living areas on the ground floor often makes for a lifeless character in cities, as usually the bedrooms are also covered and therefore no one seems to live in these houses. In this house, there is always light and life to be seen from the street.
The challenge was to utilize the minimal available space in this small house to a maximum without losing openness and lightness. Every corner of the house is utilized, like in a boat, where every cm² is also utilized. This results in a logical organization.
To enlarge the spatial feeling in this tiny house, actually everything inside is executed in white. The walls, the ceilings, the stairs, the furniture. Nevertheless: the old elements like the ceiling and old spiral staircase, and the carefully selected warm illumination give the house the desired cosiness.
To complement the white neo-classicistic façade, the roof is covered in white PVC. This is a durable roofing that reflects the sun to a maximum. This reflection of sunlight has a positive impact on the roofing, and the indoor climate. Necessary to avoid overheating, due to the large amount of south-facing windows and shallow depth of the house.
Vertical extensions on the white roof form a contemporary expression in contrast to the neo-classicistic white stucco cornice. These roof extensions get their inspiration from the verticality, which is clearly felt in the environment. The shape of these dormers is the result of extending the existing façade structure. The dimensions of the windows in the façade beneath were transferred in the roof volume in which the left window was extended up to the roof-ridge, as a vertical element on top of the vertical house. A beacon. A light house.
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RODETOREN
Program
Single Family House
Client
Garcia Garcia
Size
85m2
Budget
€ 105.000
Location
Gent, BE
Completed
2012
