bruno vanbesien . photos: © Tim van de Velde . + wallpaper
The client dreamed of a house made up of different volumes centered around a green space. The architect however countered this idea of independent volumes by coming up with the concept of one building with the feel of separate buildings. On a rectangular floor plan, around an interior patio of which all living spaces benefit, he constructed a residence both intimate and open.
The facade, covered with inland wood that has undergone thermowood treatment, is unobtrusive yet playful. Although the width of the wooden slats is the same everywhere, their thickness differs. This brings about a very unusual lightening or darkening effect depending on your point of view. Black is never black on this house but ranges from a timid brown to a rich dark grey.
And because of the visual absence of the fascia boards, hidden behind the slats, the roof top seen from the side displays an intriguing uneven look, like teeth on a carpenter’s saw.
Along the green patio the architect has chosen a different option. Here the wood paneling used along the walls all has the same width and thickness so as to create a more inviting, homely, more living room-like atmosphere than the rugged facade on the outside.
Entering the house becomes an experience. The opening in the outside wall is just that, an opening onto the patio. There the concrete, painted a dark grey, guides you as a red carpet towards the actual front door of the house. The architect has played with the notions public, semi-public and private and has successfully blurred the boundaries between the outside, the patio area and the living area. Inside the house the inhabitants are constantly made aware of the outer shell of their house and thus by its material presence. Another example of playing with these notions and linking inside and outside is witnessed on the living room floor, where the same concrete has been used as around the inner garden.
All living areas (bedrooms, bathrooms and living room) are purposefully oriented towards the south. This brings in the sun in abundance all day long as if the house rotates with the sun. Here it seems as if the idea of wooden slats on the exterior has been reinterpreted internally in the form of blinds offering the people inside intimacy and privacy.
All windows are made up of glass glued onto a thin frame. This leads to clean lines and almost unobstructed views. For the walls the architect has chosen fixed heights so that from the inside the playful inclination of the ceiling is emphasized and craftily articulated.
The kitchen is almost completely hidden from view. Behind white cupboards of uneven width one finds the cooking area and the integrated fireplace, both covered in sanded larch wood in a discrete dark grey. The same dark-colored, sanded larch wood can be found in the downstairs bathroom echoing the sparse catalogue of materials the architect has limited himself to. Upstairs this limited palette is enriched with the use of oak on floor and bathroom cupboards giving these quarters a more homely and intimate ambiance.
