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Architects: Atelier Vens Vanbelle
- Area: 224 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Mr Frank
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Lead Architects: Dries Vens & Maarten Vanbelle
Text description provided by the architects. A couple with three teenage children bought a foremanhouse near the former harbour of Ghent. They immediately found themselves in the decor of the Queen Astrid Park on the back of the plot, and in the house itself which was characterized by a fairly wide facade and high ceilings. The lady of the house has a passion for greenery and plants. This fact was translated into the design and the greenery forms an inseparable part of the house.
In addition, the couple wanted to have contact with street life and neighbors. In order to realise this wish the ground floor was transformed into a bel étage. At the level of the new kitchen, the floor level was raised by more than half a metre, turning the former basement into a comfortable laundry room with daylight. The 'elevated' kitchen offers residents a direct view of the garden and the street, but without passers-by being able to take a curious look inside.
The Queen Astrid Park at the back absolutely had to be part of the living experience. Residents have an unobstructed view of the greenery through the split southern rear facade. The double construction was necessary to limit the risk of overheating due to direct sunlight. It also immediately marks a covered access zone at the rear and a greenhouse. This in-between space also increases the feeling of intimacy and privacy in relation to the outside world and literally draws the green inside.
The family's residential program also included a chill-out area for the children. It took the form of a multifunctional mezzanine. The children can fill it in as they wish and perform all kinds of activities in it. They sit separately, but the parents can hear what is happening from the living areas.
Internal contact is a common thread in this new residential concept, something that could be realized thanks to the available space, an enormous luxury for a terraced house. Everywhere you have an airy impression and there are internal connections. The void, which is full of plants, plays a leading role in this, but interior windows are also part of the open living concept. Everywhere you are struck by light and air and the void with all its light and greenery is omnipresent. It is crossed by an open wooden staircase and balconies create the atmosphere of Mediterranean alleys.
Less impressive, but no less attractive, is the loft in the new rear building. The floor plate between the floors seems to be cut out round and has a border in the form of a paracord net. This 'balustrade' once again accentuates the organic openness of the whole.
In the end, this house was transformed into a unique place that is in contact with the outside world, while offering a cocoon of tranquility for the residents. Social and individual seem to flow into each other while both remain intact.
