The project is located in a park in Waregem, West Flanders. An existing building and a small farmhouse are located on either side of an enclosed meadow within the park. The project was to build a contemporary single-family residence on one side of the meadow that optimized the spatial value of the plot and the quality of the park while providing privacy for the owners.

The design of the house relates to the early modernist language of the 1930s and 1950s, but is rooted in the Flemish building tradition through the use of a specific type of brick, reproduced for this project. The brick volumes separate the house from the street, A Cubist composition of lines fragments the main volume of the house, which gradually opens up towards the park. A pergola structure at the rear encloses a garden area to create a subtle transition between the private living areas inside, the enclosed garden area around the house and the park beyond.

The plan also clearly shows the transition between public and private space. The combination of the brick volumes indicates the main door to the house, beyond which an entrance hall is separated by big sliding doors from the private life within. An enclosed small courtyard allows natural light into the hall. Behind the sliding doors the private living areas relate to the garden. Specific attention is given to the family kitchen, where sunlight enters the space above the kitchen through openings in the wooden ceiling – a structure that continues from the kitchen out to the covered terrace close to the pool. The bedroom areas are positioned on the first floor of the house.

Warm grey brick, contemporary aluminium window frames and the pergola structure are combined with Belgian bluestone (with a weathered finish) and oak floors, a wooden ceiling in the kitchen and a white ceiling finish elsewhere. The result is a tranquil atmosphere overall that accentuates the natural light in the house and the views of the beautiful old trees in the verdant park.

Photography:

Koen Van Damme

Publications:

Arquitectura y Diseño, February 2014

Domus, November 2013