
Located in a street made up of townhouses, the new construction stands precisely at a significant shift in the alignments of the fronts of the buildings between the upper and lower parts of the street. Looking for integration with the existing buildings, the new volumetry plays with this misalignment difference and creates a fold in the front facade which compensates for both the depth offsets and the alignments of cornice levels.
Inside, the spaces follow one another in a work of sequence in quarter-levels. Articulated by integrated furniture elements, the differences in floor heights make it possible to organize the living spaces in a very open way. There are very few partitions and the gradual intimacy is created by the gradual ascent of the platforms.
The interior spatial configuration has been thought out to be able to evaluate at the same time as the residents. Today, there are very few partitions, but the dwelling has been thought out to be organized in an evolutionary way according to the seasons and also (and above all) in the longer term, with the interior spaces which could be intimated according to the wants and needs of growing children.
This set of levels and openings of spaces is also perceptible on the facade and the materials have been chosen to take up the expression of the structure of the wood frame construction.
At the level of the wooden structure of the construction, built by a Brussels contractor with wood from Belgian forests, the rear facade and most of the front facade are composed of curtain facades and cladding in wood. The color of the material is intended to evolve over time in shade variations that will integrate with the colors of the existing facades of the other houses on the street.
BTR
Place: Brussels, Belgium
Archtiect: DéDal architectes
Realization: 2021
Floor area: 210 m2
Photo: Stijn Bollaert