51N4E . photos: © Maxime Delvaux
The client, a family of 5, lives in an archetypical row house on a dense plot in the historic centre of Leuven. The home is transformed into a collection of connected spaces with very diverse characters: a very big, high and bright space with zenithal light becomes the centre of the project. A small adjoining brick shed is reached through a secret staircase. The street side room serves as a vestibule, a reception space plus storage room. The garden becomes an open air room with green walls and an oversized water element.
The rooms are defined through a careful formulation of building elements: a floating glass-roof, a thin concrete staircase, a terrazzo floor slab, a green earth wall, a large sliding window.
This collection of rooms becomes an ambivalent living environment in the continuum of public and private rooms that compose the city fabric.
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Location: Leuven, BE
Completion: 2016
Project team for 51N4E:
Johan Anrys, Jan Haerens, Charlotte Schmidt, Francesca Schiavello, Guillaume Boulanger, Jolein Bergers
Structural engineer: UTIL
EPB: I-vec
Construction: BHC, Deknock & Aerts
Programme: single family house
Site surface: 200 m²
Built surface: 280 m²
