Hasta La Ideas

Brussels studio Madam Architectuur has renovated and extended a bungalow near Aalst, updating its exterior with bright red-painted timber that is “striking yet modest”.

Named Charlotte, the low-slung home was built on the outskirts of a nature reserve in the 1990s but lacked a relationship with its surroundings.

Madam Architectuur reconfigured and extended the concrete structure to improve its connection to a patio at its centre and enlarged its windows to introduce expansive landscape views.

Its exterior has also been reclad in timber painted a shade of red called Falu, which originated in Sweden to mimic red-brick buildings.

“The house is located on the edge of a nature reserve but is only a 10-minute bike ride from the centre of Aalst,” said Madam Architectuur co-founder Door Smits.

“It is designed to really let nature enter,” Smits continued.”The existing bungalow had a number of nice elements, but the organisation and spaciousness inside were not quite right.”

Charlotte’s bedrooms previously occupied the area of the home with the best views of the landscape and so Madam Architectuur relocated these into a small extension.

In their place, the studio has created a large living, dining and kitchen area to take advantage of dual-aspect views of the outside and the internal patio.

“The idea was to move the current bedrooms to a simple new volume next to the house that continues the existing outline of the facade,” Smits told Dezeen.

“This creates a fascinating living space with different places with different atmospheres,” he added. “The patio will be centrally located and will be linked to the entrance, living areas, kitchen and bathroom.”

The three bedrooms have been kept compact, “as is typical in modernist bungalows” according to Smits. They are connected to the original footprint of the home by a wide corridor with a window at either end.

Throughout the interior, a pared-back palette of white walls and pale wood fittings is contrasted by the blue-steel beams, exposed concrete ceilings and bright red-painted window and door frames that match the exterior.

“The deep red colour combines beautifully with the green of the surroundings,” said Smits. “It is striking yet modest,” he continued.

“The structure is shown as it is. Steel beams in bright colours combined with the raw concrete that we found after the demolition of the suspended ceiling and a conscious decision was made to keep these visible to give the house character,” he added.

Madam Architectuur was founded in Brussels by Smits with Marit Meganck. Previous projects by the studio include the extension of a 1930s home in Belgium with a garden room finished in green ceramic tiles and green-pigmented concrete.

Other residential projects in Belgium recently featured on Dezeen include the “smallest possible extension” to a townhouse in Brussels and the renovation of a detached home in Ghent with concrete-lined living spaces.

The photography is by Luc Roymans.

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