Gewad apartment block by Atelier Vens Vanbelle features brick walls and a mirrored atrium

Mirrored walls and projecting staircases create optical illusions inside the brick-lined atrium of this apartment complex in Ghent, Belgium, by local office Atelier Vens Vanbelle.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

Named Gewad, the building housing four individual apartments was constructed on the site of a former costume shop destroyed by fire, which architect Maarten Vanbelle of Atelier Vens Vanbelle bought and decided to redevelop with partner Dries Vens.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

Rather than a standard arrangement of single-storey apartments, the properties slot together in multi-layered shapes that mean each one is spread over at least two floors.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

“We did not want to design apartments that would feel like an apartment, with all rooms obediently after the other,” said the architects. “It had to be houses, hence all apartments have two or even three floors.”

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

The surviving rear facade was retained along with an existing courtyard which, complemented by the central patio and the street on the other side, allows daylight to reach each apartment at all times of the day.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

Influenced by the courtyards found at the heart of homes encountered by the architects on a trip to Italy, the patio provides a communal entrance featuring a staircase that ascends to the top floor and incorporates landings, offering access to the apartments on different levels.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

The walls of the atrium are built from brick salvaged from the ruined shop. Stairs are made from different materials, with some hidden behind brick walls and others projecting over the atrium, creating a complex composite effect intended to evoke the illusory drawings of M.C. Escher.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

“You see countless courtyards with stairs, balconies and doors in places where you least expect it,” said the architects of their experiences in Italy. “That was also the intention: that you step inside and not immediately know how the apartments are oriented.”

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

Windows around the atrium allow glimpses into the interiors of the apartments and add to the communal feel, while their careful placement restricts views of the most private rooms.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

At the top of the atrium is a polished aluminium mirror that reflects sunlight and views of the sky into the spaces below and amplifies views of the surrounding neighbourhood when seen from the roof terrace.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

The irregular arrangement of the apartments also creates unique spaces and details, including private balconies, sloping walls and double-height spaces.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

One apartment features a wooden staircase with widened treads that provide storage and casual seating areas, while another has an opening above the living room that exposes dark-stained wooden beams.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

Materials including wood, concrete and second-hand terracotta flooring were chosen to ensure the building ages well with use. The intention is that residents will gradually adapt the public areas to meet their needs.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

“We have let a lot of materials coexist, without letting it be too crowded,” the architects pointed out. “By playing with textures and materials we create atmosphere and define different residential functions.”

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

The architects’ studio is contained in a former coach house at the rear of the courtyard, which features planting that will mature over time to create a lush garden.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

The street-facing facade is rendered in a whitewash in accordance with the local council’s request and features a ground floor wall incorporating the trunks of 23 chestnut trees.

GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle

Photography is by Tim Van de Velde.

Here’s some more information sent by Atelier Vens Vanbelle:


Four inventive city apartments

Puzzling around central patio

This project brings together four new apartments which run perfectly under, over and trough each other. The building was erected on the spot where once stood a burnt costume shop. Maarten bought the dilapidated house with his brother and parents, and began puzzling together with his business partner Dries. “There was a lot of thinking concerned. We started from zero, only preserving the rear facade. Not only an urban intervention, but thanks to the old rear facade the original dimensions of the courtyard were also retained.” “Each apartment overlooks both the street, the central patio, and the courtyard, so that at any time of the day somewhere sunlight can come in.”

Ground floor plan of GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle
Ground floor plan – click for larger image

Italian interior square

Whoever enters the building, stands on a particular courtyard. The architects had shortly before the start of the project on tour in Italy, and there the idea grew. “You will see countless courtyards with stairs, balconies and doors in places where you least expect it. That was also the intention: that you step inside and not immediately know how the apartments are oriented. ‘The staircase consists of different materials and we even spotted a piece of’ reverse ‘staircase. “It reminds of a drawing of graphic artist Escher, which kicks all directions seem to go.”

First floor plan of GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle
First floor plan – click for larger image

The patio provides a unique circulation throughout the building. The residents come out against each other, or see each other occasionally pass through a window. “Without that privacy is violated. We made sure that no one else is living inside look. “The patio is built with stones recovered from the burned building. Above the patio there’s a large mirror made of polished aluminum. It was positioned in a way it reflects down the sunlight during the day and seen from below it reflects the sky.

Second floor plan of GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle
Second floor plan – click for larger image

House Feeling

“We did not want to design apartments that would feel like an apartment, with all rooms obediently after the other.” It had to be houses, hence all apartments have two or even three floors. “We have thought very longtime about how we could fit the apartments together.” These apartments define eachothers shape and layout. Besides the two floors there are also other elements that reinforce the ‘house feeling’: each apartment has a separate entrance which can be reached with stairs from the patio, and each apartment has both a street, patio and courtyard side. Each resident enjoys fantastic views of the city of Ghent, a private terrace and nooks and crannies that you would not expect in an apartment. One apartment has a meter high atrium, the other a piece of glass in the bedroom floor, or a hall with a sloping wall. On the street side there is a meeting room for the architects, and at the rear of the courtyard there’s a charming former coach house as a studio for the two.

Third floor plan of GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle
Third floor plan – click for larger image

Windows and co

An exception, perhaps, but the architects design everything by making models. “Because we are so focused on light. We make a model, which we orient in the same way as the future home, and by filming the inside we see how the sunlight penetrates the building. “In the apartment building we find numerous examples of well-positioned roof and interior windows. In the upper apartment, where three boys live together, the bathroom is connected to the living room through an inside window, and look out simultaneously by a roof window: “So you see your own house from unexpected angles in a way it remains fascinating. The head of the architecture department of Ghent said that our project is a kind of synthesis of urban living: How can you live together in a small area, but do not suffer the disadvantages concerning light, circulation and privacy?”

Fourth floor plan of GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle
Fourth floor plan – click for larger image

Anti trends

The architects wanted to create the feeling that the apartments have spontaneously, coincidentally, almost organically grown. “We do not want architecture for architects. It should not be finger-on that we have thought hard about the design. The intention is that our project is going to look better by getting older, rather than to decline. Hence we have worked with many beautiful old materials: wood, concrete, old floors, etc. The patio has yet to change: vegetation, balconies and washing lines. It should all be a little more ‘lived’. ‘The façade takes humility on the street. Besides the base, formed by 23 chestnut trees, the façade is a purified version of the classic whitewashed facade. The white plaster was one condition of the city services.

Section one of GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle
Section one – click for larger image

Controlled multitude

The material is not motivated by ephemeral fads. In the living room of Maarten’s apartment we see a wardrobe made from grooved plywood of Polish pine, which has a beautiful drawing. That pine wood contrasts with the dark smoked oak parquet. The ceiling is partly concrete, partly from pasting, partly from wooden beams and there is even an iron beam visible. “So much more fun if you watch your ceiling from your seat.” In the kitchen we find even a dash reclaimed terracotta floor, feeling like the oak. “We have let a lot of materials coexist, without letting it be too crowded. Name it controlled quantity (laughter). By playing with textures and materials, we create atmosphere and define different residential functions. Sociability is a bit of a dirty word in modern architecture, but honestly we are quite fond of it.”

Section two of GEWAD apartments by Atelier Vens Vanbelle
Section two – click for larger image

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Military church in Antwerp reinvented as a restaurant by Piet Boon

Dutch designer Piet Boon has transformed the interior of a former military hospital chapel in Antwerp, Belgium, into a contemporary restaurant featuring a sculptural chandelier.

Church renovated into a restaurant in Antwerp by Piet Boon

Piet Boon‘s Amsterdam studio worked with lighting designers .PSLAB and artists Studio Job on the interior of The Jane restaurant, combining modern elements with the chapel’s high ceilings and patterned tile floor.

Church renovated into a restaurant in Antwerp by Piet Boon

“The main features we retained in The Jane were the ceiling, of which the peeling paintwork was preserved, and the original pottery floor tiles,” the design team told Dezeen.

Church renovated into a restaurant in Antwerp by Piet Boon

Described by the designers as “fine dining meets rock ‘n roll”, the restaurant accommodates its kitchen in the church’s former altar.

Church renovated into a restaurant in Antwerp by Piet Boon

.PSLAB’s large chandelier made from steel and hand-blown crystal glass forms a centrepiece in the restaurant. Thin steel poles extend out in all directions from its central cylinder, with small crystal globes attached to the end of each one.

Black circular tables and pale green armchairs sit beneath the chandelier, while larger seating areas are positioned against the walls.

Church renovated into a restaurant in Antwerp by Piet Boon

Studio Job created 500 colourful glass window panels to replace the former stained-glass windows.

Referencing “stories of good and evil, rich and poor, life and death as well as good food and religion”, the panels include images of sunflowers, devils and skulls.

Church renovated into a restaurant in Antwerp by Piet Boon

A marble-topped bar is installed on an upper-level viewing platform and surrounded by black upholstered bar stools. An illuminated skull light hangs down at the rear of the space.

Church renovated into a restaurant in Antwerp by Piet Boon

Bespoke speakers were also installed to “spread sound”, reducing noise and echo from the high ceilings. “The acoustics of the restaurant play an important role in speech intelligibility and ambiance,” added the designers.

Here’s some information from Piet Boon:


‘Divine’ fine dining experience The Jane opens its doors March 25th

Michelin-star chef Sergio Herman and chef Nick Bril created their “fine dining meets rock ‘n roll” restaurant vision together with Piet Boon over three years ago in a mythical location in Antwerp; the chapel of a former military hospital. Piet Boon® Studio, responsible for the interior design and styling of The Jane, since then collaborated in the chapel’s unique transformation into a high-end, contemporary restaurant with international allure where experience is key.

Church renovated into a restaurant in Antwerp by Piet Boon

Piet Boon

Based on her belief in authenticity, functionality and materials that ‘age beautifully’ the studio chose to restore only the highly necessary in the chapel and hence preserve the rest. The original ceiling amongst others conveys the pure, understated and respectful environment that serves as the authentic host for the ultimate fine dining experience.

The original altar gave way to the kitchen that – just like the atelier – is embraced by glass, like a modern shrine. It allows guests to witness everything the team creates for them.

The shared passion of Herman, Bril and Boon to work with pure, rich materials is expressed in the interior in which qualitatively outstanding natural stone, leather and oak wood are used.

Moreover Piet Boon® Studio, as with many of her projects, collaborated with a number of leading creative partners to shape the “fine dining meets rock ‘n roll” character of the overall experience. Studio Job, Mathieu Nab and .PSLAB and others each delivered their signature part within the total concept.

Church renovated into a restaurant in Antwerp by Piet Boon

Studio Job

Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel of Studio Job designed the windows consisting of 500 unique panels. Inspired by the chapel’s original function, foam spatulas, sunflowers, devils, skulls, babies, Jesus on the cross, dice, apple cores, wrenches, ice cream cones, a canon, croissants, penguins, trophies, gas masks and birthday cakes portray a contemporary translation of the old stained-glass windows. Archetypes from various worlds each tell masterpiece stories of good and evil, rich and poor, life and death as well as good food and religion.

.PSLAB

The ‘piece de résistance’ in the centre of the restaurant is a 800 kilograms-weighing gigantic chandelier of 12 by 9 meters with over 150 lights, designed by the Beirut-based design studio .PSLAB. The chandelier was created in such a way that it contributes to the intimate and ambient divinity of the chapel interior. The team, specialised in the design and production of site-specific contemporary lighting, laid out an overall lighting plan for The Jane to accentuate the unique elements of both the building and the interior. It is aimed to create a scenic ambience by seamlessly combining artistry and engineering.

Church renovated into a restaurant in Antwerp by Piet Boon

SERAX

Together with Belgian company SERAX, specialised in decoration accessories, Piet Boon® designed tableware that conveys a shared passion for attention to detail and perfection. Base by Piet Boon® is a high quality bone white porcelain collection combining functionality and design. The tableware has high thermal stability, is lead- and cadmium free and will be featured in the The Jane’s Upper Room Bar.

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Aires Mateus to design architecture school with a house-shaped entrance

News: Portuguese brothers Manuel and Francisco Aires Mateus have won a competition to design a new school of architecture in the Belgian city of Tournai, with plans for a complex featuring a house-shaped entrance void.

School of Architecture, Tournai by Aires Mateus

Lisbon-based Aires Mateus saw off competition from Belgian studio Robbrecht & Daem and French firm Lacaton & Vassal to win the commission to create a 7000-square-metre architecture faculty for 600 students at the Catholic University of Louvain.

School of Architecture, Tournai by Aires Mateus

Located within the city’s historic quarter, the project will involve renovating an eighteenth-century hospital to accommodate administrative services as well as converting two industrial buildings to create space for classrooms and a library.

School of Architecture, Tournai by Aires Mateus

The architects also plan to demolish some existing buildings, making room for a tree-lined courtyard and a new structure that will serve as the spine of the complex.

School of Architecture, Tournai by Aires Mateus

Weaving between the renovated blocks, the new building will link different departments and provide a distinctive entrance. According to the architects, it will make contact with the existing brick volumes in as few places as possible.

School of Architecture, Tournai by Aires Mateus

“The design evokes the existing iconography in the architectural heritage of Tournai,” said the architects.

School of Architecture, Tournai by Aires Mateus
Axonometric diagram – click for larger image

“Its geometry causes various urban plazas and produces a large interior space which will house all academic activities, as well as establishing a close collaboration with the community,” they added.

School of Architecture, Tournai by Aires Mateus
Sections one and two – click for larger image

Work is set to begin on the project later this year and students are expected to start occupying the facility in 2015.

School of Architecture, Tournai by Aires Mateus
Sections three, four and five – click for larger image

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Areal Architecten’s Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

This retirement home near Antwerp was designed by Belgian studio Areal Architecten around a pair of courtyards to avoid creating identical rooms along endless rows of corridors.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

Areal Architecten wanted the Mayerhof Care Campus to be “a place to grow old with dignity”, rather than a sequence of characterless rooms.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

“Such a scheme is a victory for the functionality of these buildings, but a defeat for the domesticity of it,” explained architect Jurgen Vandewalle.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

The three-storey complex accommodates 148 residential units within a single building, which features a plan loosely based on a figure of eight. This allowed residences to be grouped into clusters around the two courtyards.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

“Each room gets either a view towards these open spaces in the heart of the nursing home or to the green area around the building,” said Vandewalle.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

The largest of the two courtyards is accessible to all residents, while a series of balconies and roof terraces provide accessible outdoor spaces on the upper levels.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

Break-out spaces are dotted across all three floors to encourage residents to interact with their neighbours. There are also several common areas where they can dine or socialise together.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

“Mayerhof Care Campus acts as a small town where functionality and domesticity merge into a fresh environment, and where social interaction, security and integration of people with different needs are in the centre,” added the architect.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

The architect used a combination of timber and aluminium cladding to give the building its gridded facade. While the reflective metal provides horizontal stripes, the timber sections alternate with windows in between.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

Areal Architecten has also completed three separate buildings on the site, which provide assisted living for up to 40 residents with disabilities. These structures feature masonry walls with exposed concrete beams.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

Pathways run across the complex in different directions and three vehicular entrances lead into different car parking areas.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

Photography is by Tim Van De Velde.

Read on for a project description by Areal Architecten:


Elderly Care Campus in Mortsel

Nursing homes and other social services are often interpreted according to the same pattern: countless rooms linked together by long corridors. Such a scheme is a victory for the functionality of these buildings, but a defeat for the domesticity of it. In care area Mayerhof the limits of this rational scheme are questioned, while space is created in which a community can grow. Various additions of communal and open areas add to the domesticity of the place.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

By positioning the nursing home in a figure of eight on the site an infinite circulation that connects all the rooms on every floor with each other arises. In this functional diagram however, places where social interaction arises are inserted. At each corner of the figure open spaces create space for interaction. The linear corridor folds around two large voids, creating various perspectives and a sense of overview in the building.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

As the program towards the upper floors is diminishing, terraces arise on every floor with an optimal orientation and protected from the wind. Each room gets either view towards these open spaces in the heart of the nursing home or to the green area around the building. The result is a very light volume that is bathed in natural light and space.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

Besides nursing, three separate volumes provide assisted living, as stately sentinels overlooking the existing nursing home. Large openings with terraces located in a residential area that acts between the nursing home and the surrounding housing. All properties counting two or three facades allowing natural light to invade the living spaces are bundled with a widened corridor that houses the common functions.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards

The new buildings are implanted into the free space on the site around the existing nursing home, which remained in use during the works. After the demolition a green zone is liberated embraced by the new nursing home and assisted living residences. The joint residential area and the underground passage bind the different functions together. Otherwise they set themselves as autonomous parts, but live as integrated components of a unique residential care setting with a focus on lifelong living and care.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards
Axonometric diagram – click for larger image

The choice for three entrances to the site, the construction of streets and indoor spaces and buildings that vary in size and appearance makes this new environment reminiscent of an urban fabric and is way different than the monotonous environments where such programs are mostly housed. The various functions dress in a different architecture. The nursing home is built in a reflective aluminium cladding used as canvas to the sunlight. The assisted living residences have a stately finish in masonry with exposed concrete ring beams.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards
Ground floor plan – click for larger image

Mayerhof Care Campus acts as a small town where functionality and domesticity merge into a fresh environment, and where social interaction, security and integration of people with different needs are in the centre. A community bound together by a rational structure, a place to grow old with dignity.

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards
First floor plan – click for larger image

Client: Sint-Carolus Mayerhof vzw
Building cost: elderly care 148 beds – 12.600.000 euro, assisted living 40 units – 5.600.000 euro
Surface: elderly care 10.104 m² + assisted living 3884 m² + underground parking 1229m²
Structural engineering: ABT België nv
Technical studies: VK Engineering nv
Construction: MBG (CFE)

Areal Architecten's Mayerhof retirement home wraps around two courtyards
Second floor plan – click for larger image

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Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition

Garments by Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent and Thierry Mugler feature in an exhibition of feathered fashion at Antwerp’s Mode Museum.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
This image: Ann Demeulemeester, S/S 2008. Photograph by Dan Lecca. Main image: Alexander McQueen, A/W 2009. Photograph by François Nars

Birds of Paradise. Plumes and Feathers in Fashion at MoMu explores the application of the material through fashion history.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Ann Demeulemeester, A/W 2010-2011. Photograph by Dan Lecca

The exhibition is split into themed sections showcasing different textures, colours and uses of the material, with a focus on the designers who have adopted it for their apparel.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Dries Van Noten, A/W 2013-2014. Photograph by Patrice Stable

Visitors are greeted by a haute couture gown from Thierry Mugler‘s Spring Summer 1997 collection, which has bright feathers arranged in patterns like butterfly wings around an open back.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Dries Van Noten, A/W 2013-2014. Photograph by Bache Jespers

Fashion by late British designer Alexander McQueen, whose work heavily featured avian influences, is displayed and provides the poster image for the exhibition.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Cleave, mixed media with crow feathers by Kate McGwire, 2012. Photograph by Tessa Angus

Feathers also feature prominently throughout the work of Belgian designer Ann Demeulemeester, who selected silhouettes that highlight her use of the material for the exhibition.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Detail of Quell, mixed media with dove and pigeon feathers by Kate McGwire, 2011. Photograph by Tessa Angus

“Ever since I was a child I have had an enormous respect for feathers, and especially for pigeon feathers,” she said. “To me a pigeon feather is poetry of the mundane, a form of perfection that is to be found on the streets by everyone.”

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Folding fan, mount in ostrich feathers dyed in degrade, tortoiseshell sticks decorated with a crown and arms in platinum, diamonds, rubies and enamel, 1928, Altenloh E&R jewelers, Brussels, Former collection Queen Astrid of Belgium, Royal Collections Palace of Brussels SA.1935.0088, Photograph by Stephen Mattues

Garments are on show by twentieth-century designers Cristóbal Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent, who both covered dresses in feathers during the 1960s.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Hat trimming, cut and dyed feathers, MoMu collection T12/208. Photograph by MoMu/Suzan Rylant

Angelic white dresses covered in fluffy down are contrasted with sinister dark garments in shiny crow feathers by a variety of designers.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Hat trimming of feather quills and artificial flowers, MoMu collection T96/90C. Photograph by MoMu/Suzan Rylant

Sculptures by British artist Kate McGwire are dotted around the space. One large piece titled Gyre is made of crow feathers, often associated with bad luck.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Blue Angel A/W 2012-2013, Roger Vivier. Photograph courtesy of Roger Vivier

A section is dedicated to fans, which were often made from elaborate arrangements of dyed ostrich plumes for use in the courts of Europe.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Photograph of the exhibition by Boy Kortekaas

The garments and accessories are accompanied by paintings and taxidermy showing the species that different feathers come from.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Photograph of the exhibition by Boy Kortekaas

The history of the plumassier – or feather worker – dating back to seventeenth-century France is also explained.

Feathers and plumage in fashion celebrated at Antwerp exhibition
Photograph of the exhibition by Boy Kortekaas

The exhibition continues until 24 August 2014.

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Abandoned trailer converted into garden hideaway by Karel Verstraeten

Belgian architect Karel Verstraeten has transformed an abandoned construction-site trailer into a quiet retreat at the end of a family garden in Ghent.

Abandoned trailer converted into garden hideaway by Karel Verstraeten

The clients bought the trailer from the local government for just €15 (about £12) and asked asked Karel Verstraeten to redesign it. “They thought of using it as a place to rest, play or study, for them and their two sons,” he said.

Abandoned trailer converted into garden hideaway by Karel Verstraeten

The trailer had previously been used as a temporary mobile office on a construction site and had to be towed to the site by a local farmer.

Abandoned trailer converted into garden hideaway by Karel Verstraeten

All the work was carried out by the family. They clad the trailer with strips of oak and added a metre-wide domed window to the far end to create submarine-like views of the surrounding fields.

Abandoned trailer converted into garden hideaway by Karel Verstraeten

The interior was stripped bare, before plywood was fixed over the walls, floor and ceiling. The junctions between these surfaces are curved, adding to the sense of enclosure.

Abandoned trailer converted into garden hideaway by Karel Verstraeten
Site plan

Wooden runners were attached to the lengths of the walls at even intervals, on which planks of wood can be rested at the different heights. This flexible design allows the owners to create a desk, a low table or even a bed.

Abandoned trailer converted into garden hideaway by Karel Verstraeten
Plan showing layout options – click for larger image

“The trailer can be arranged as a place to sleep as well as a place to study or party” added the architect.

Abandoned trailer converted into garden hideaway by Karel Verstraeten
Section – click for larger image

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Brick colonnade screens renovated hunting lodge by DMOA Architecten

DMOA Architecten has transformed a former hunting lodge in Belgium into a family home, retaining the eight piers of its original brick facade as a garden feature (+ movie).

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

La Branche was first built in the eighteenth century on the site of a castle in the woods of Heverlee, Belgium. Originally a home, it later became a hunting lodge but was left vacant 15 years ago.

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

DMOA Architecten refurbished two brick blocks and created a new one-storey volume that links the two. The eight piers of the original facade, which gave its name to the property, were retained as a free-standing screen in front.

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

“When you walk through the house you feel continuously that you are in a nexus between old and new,” said Luis Querol of DMOA Architecten.

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

The new flat-roofed single-storey volume holds the living and dining areas. It has custom-made windows and timber cladding in black-tinted afzelia.

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

Cupboards are made of smoked oak veneer, the floor is natural oak, and the kitchen is a combination of brown Corian and smoked oak veneer.

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

The new addition makes a U-shaped plan, connecting with the two brick gabled buildings that sit at right angles to it to form a central courtyard.

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

The house is now home to a family with four children, whose bedrooms are within the brick-built wings.

La-Branche-by-DMOA-Architecten-dezeen_18

Floors and walls in the master bathroom are painted black.

La-Branche-by-DMOA-Architecten

Photography by Thomas Janssens. Video is by Luis Querol.

Here’s a project description the architect sent us:


La Branche

The project is a peaceful combination of old and new. The new part is a sober black canvas looking at the garden from behind the old walls.

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

In several places remnant parts of the old walls are kept as garden elements, an aspect that strengthens the atmosphere. When you walk through the house you feel continuously that you are in a nexus between old and new.

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

The project consists of the renovation of an old resting place for hunters in the woods of Heverlee (Belgium), transforming it in an comfortable and modern dwelling for a family with four children.

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

One of the three wings of the U-compositions was removed except of the facade wall, which remains with the name that gave title to the old refuge and now to its renovation “La Branche”.

La-Branche-by-DMOA-Architecten-dezeen_21

The sides made of brick contain the private rooms of the family meanwhile the dark volume accommodate the living and the kitchen in permanent connection with the pool and the outside garden. The dark colours of the interior design contrast with the high brightness that gets inside through the large windows.

La Branche by DMOA Architecten

Project Title: La Branche
Architects: DMOA Architecten
Collaborators: Benjamin Denef, Charlotte Gryspeerdt, Matthias Mattelaer; Lien Gesquiere
Localization: Heverlee, Belgium
Site area: 2200 sqm
Floor area: 655 sqm

La-Branche-by-DMOA-Architecten-dezeen_plan_1
Ground floor plan – click to view
La-Branche-by-DMOA-Architecten-dezeen_plan_0
First floor plan – click to view
La-Branche-by-DMOA-Architecten-dezeen_plan_floor_00
Basement plan – click to view

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Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

This apartment conversion in Bilzen, Belgium, by C.T. Architects is designed as a stylish home for a wheelchair user and features practical storage including shelves built into either end of an angular dining table.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

Local office C.T. Architects adapted a space which was previously used as storage for an apartment block into a compact home that incorporates several accessible features.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

Architect Nick Ceulemans wanted to create a home “that does not look at all like a dwelling for a physically challenged person.” Ceulemans said: “In fact, while many of the design solutions were inspired by necessity, they would all be welcome in any urban small loft.”

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

The first thing to be done was to adapt the building’s main entrance by adding a ramp to the owner’s front door and provide a new communal entrance to the other flats.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

Inside the small apartment, a bright living and dining area is connected to the bedroom by a corridor that is wide enough to comfortably accommodate a wheelchair.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

Wet areas and storage spaces are grouped together to free up as much floor space as possible inside the 80 square-metre apartment, which also includes a small terrace accessed through sliding glass doors from the bedroom.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

As well as the shelving incorporated into the dining table, the headboard of the bed functions as a desk with integrated storage.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

A specially designed hybrid lighting fixture and electrical hub on the desk in the bedroom features a rotating beam that can direct light towards the work surface or the bed and provides convenient charging points.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

Materials and finishes used throughout the interior were chosen to enhance the apartment’s bright and relaxed feel, with the textured floors and doors adding warmth and tactility.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

“A sense of unity and calm is created by using white walls and ceilings combined with rough-sawn oak floors and sliding doors hiding the storage space, bathroom and toilet,” explained the architects.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

Electrically height adjustable kitchen units drop down to make the cupboards easier to reach, while the position of a lamp in the living and dining space can be adjusted by swinging it away from the wall.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

Photography is by Tim Van de Velde.

Here’s some more information from C.T. Architects:


A home without boundaries

The project includes the conversion of a ground floor apartment, previously used for storage, into an accessible and wheelchair friendly living space for an accident victim. The result is an apartment that does not look at all like a dwelling for a physically challenged person. In fact, while many of the design solutions were inspired by necessity, they would all be welcome in any urban small loft.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

To create an accessible residence, C.T. Architects changed the main entrance of the building block to create a ramp to the client’s front door and a new communal entrance for the upstairs neighbours. The apartment itself was transformed completely.

By clustering the wet areas and storage space into two compact volumes, the architect was able to bring natural light into the long and narrow canyon- like layout that is organised into a conventional succession of increasingly private spaces: living room and dining area near the main entrance, a central corridor – at a comfortable width for wheelchair passage – and with an efficient kitchen on one side and the bathroom on the other side, and then the bedroom/study in the rear.

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

Sliding glass doors lead from the bedroom/study onto a small back terrace. A sense of unity and calm is created by using white walls and ceilings combined with rough-sawn oak floors and sliding doors hiding the storage space, bathroom and toilet. The kitchen designed by C.T. Architects is electrically height-adjustable which provides a wheelchair-bound user with the ability to reach everything easily.

Nick Ceulemans from C.T. Architects also designed key pieces of the furniture to meet the client’s specific needs and preferences and to comply with Belgian disability codes. He designed the dining table with built-in shelves at both ends and a flexible swing-arm wall lamp above this table (also presented at this year’s Salone del Mobile in Milan).

Loft MM by C.T. Architects designed as an accessible home for a wheelchair user

In the bedroom, Nick Ceulemans designed the double-duty bed with a desk at its head, an adjacent wall of bookshelves and a hybrid light fixture/electrical hub that swivels to illuminate both bed and work surface and to provide outlets at a convenient height for the user.

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Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

Belgian studio Atelier Tom Vanhee has converted a former school building in the village of Woesten into a community centre and added a white gabled extension that appears to be sliding out of the original brick facade (+ slideshow).

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

Atelier Tom Vanhee was asked to transform the former school building into a community centre for the inhabitants of Woesten, and extended it to provide additional meeting rooms and storage space.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

The architects retained a small recently built extension housing the toilets and built a new wooden structure around it, which has the same profile as the brick building it adjoins.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

“The extension is a volume that is slid out of the building,” architect Tom Vanhee told Dezeen. “A volume with the same typology as the existing building, as a lot of houses, and as the blind facades of other buildings in the environment.”

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

Timber was chosen for the frame of the new addition because of its sustainable credentials, with vertical slatted wooden panels covering one facade continuing across the roof.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

The gable ends of the extension are covered in white polycarbonate that accentuates the contrast between the new and old parts of the building.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

“We chose to give the extension a different materialisation than the existing building to make it readable,” said Vanhee. “The polycarbonate gives a good expression of sliding out of the building.”

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

A larger staircase and entrance are incorporated into the new structure to improve the connection between the different spaces.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

A skylight installed on the pitched roof of the brick building fills this space with natural light and internal windows allow it to reach the event space and meeting room on the ground floor.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

Facilities in the earlier extension were updated to meet modern standards for insulation, fire safety and accessibility, and a new room in the enlarged attic now houses the building’s heating and ventilation services.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

The slatted timber panelling from the facade recurs inside the extension, where it is used to clad the staircase. Original timber beams supporting the ceiling of the brick building have also been retained.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

The original school hall has been enlarged by removing an existing stage, while new doors connect it to the landscaped outdoor spaces.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

Paving extends along one side of the building to a small patio that is sheltered by the projecting facade of the extension.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

Atelier Tom Vanhee, which recently changed its name from room&room, has also created a community centre in nearby Westvleteren by updating existing brick buildings using a contrasting modern brick.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

Photography is by Filip Dujardin.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

Here’s a project description from the architects:


Community Centre Woesten

The building is accessible by a central binding public domain, the playground of the former school (built in the 19th century). By opening some windows further down we reinforce the relationship between interior spaces and this square. By doing the same at the other site of the building, the back area is activated as a green semi-public space linked with the meeting hall. The closed functions, the storeroom, the technical areas and the sanitary facilities are grouped in a partially extended volume.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

It is a rejuvenation of the building, where the recent sanitair extension gave rise to. This slider movement brings light in the heart of the meeting centre and gives more space at the central entrance hall. Internal windows overlook this hall and spread the light into the adjacent spaces. The other rooms have an open character, and can be used fully for the activities of the meeting centre: kitchen, meeting room, meeting hall, drawing Academy, concerts. The attic is elaborated for what is needed to use the building today. Further inside extension is still possible in the future.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

Materials are chosen by the score at their circle of life analysis. The used wood is FSC-labelled: the structure of the extension (floors, walls and roof), the structure of the light interior walls, the windows, the façade coping and its structure, extra wooden bars for floors and for fixating, isolation. We used fibre boards for the interior walls, Celit and OSB for the extension.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

The toilets are supplied with recycled rain water. The lights are energy efficient. The heating system recuperates the heat of the evacuating gases. The ventilation system recuperates the heat of the dirty removed air. We took care of better isolation : we changed all windows in high isolating glass, the roofs, floors and new walls are isolated. By the renovation, the building gets back a central role in the community It brings the public return the local authority was looking for.

Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension

Project: renovating a former school as a community centre
Location: Woestendorp 44, 8640 Woesten
Client: municipality Vleteren, province West-Vlaanderen
Concept team: atelier tom vanhee met ontwerpgroep
Study of stability: S.C.E.S., Brugge
Bruto surface: 629 m²
Concept: 2009 – 2010
Execution: 2011 – 2012

Site plan of Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension
Site plan – click for larger image
Ground floor plan before renovation of Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension
Ground floor plan before renovation – click for larger image
First floor plan before renovation of Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension
First floor plan before renovation – click for larger image
Ground floor plan after renovation of Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension
Ground floor plan after renovation – click for larger image
First floor plan after renovation of Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension
First floor plan after renovation – click for larger image
Community Centre Woesten by Atelier Tom Vanhee has a contrasting gabled extension
3D image of the community centre

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Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

Belgian studio Atelier Tom Vanhee has renovated and extended the brick buildings of a community centre in the village of Westvleteren using a contrasting contemporary brick (+ slideshow).

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

The site was originally occupied by a disparate cluster of buildings including a nineteenth century school building, a former town hall, a library and a youth club, which the local council asked Atelier Tom Vanhee to transform into a more practical space for community activities.

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

The poor condition of the facilities and lack of an obvious entrance or consistent elements unifying the buildings led the architect to propose a range of renovations, with brick acting as a common material.

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

“We used brick because the existing buildings were already a patchwork of different renovations from the past hundred years,” architect Tom Vanhee told Dezeen. “We thought it was beautiful and that we could strengthen this by adding a modern brick.”

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

The facade of the renovated activity hall shows evidence of former doors and windows that have been removed and filled in with new bricks. An extension made from the same brick replaces the building’s old gabled roof and incorporates new windows.

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

“The things we changed we filled in with bricks so you can see what we did,” Vanhee explained. “It also relates to the historical renovations that you can see elsewhere in the site.”

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

To create a more obvious and practical entrance for the community centre the architects removed a derelict storage building and extended the space housing a small concert hall to create a corner enclosing a courtyard that can be used for outdoor events.

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

A glass and steel box projecting from the brick wall signals the new entrance, which leads into a space that connects the previously separate facilities of the centre.

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

The windows running along the upper section of the white-painted activity room’s wall fill the space with light and provide views of the nearby church.

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

Materials throughout the interior were chosen based on their sustainable credentials, including FSC-certified timber used for the staircase and the highly insulated new windows.

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

The architects also added a green roof that reduces heat from solar gain in the summer and prevents any damage to the ceiling from heavy rainfall.

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

Photography is by Filip Dujardin.

The architect sent us this project description:


Community Centre Westvleteren

The meeting centre offers accommodation to various community activities. The complex of buildings consists of successive constructions, ranging from a 19th century school building and an old town hall to an industrial construction from the 1990s.

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

The dilapidated storage building makes place for enlargement of the meeting hall. That way the back yard becomes an outdoor space for the party room. The gabled roof is replaced by a single slope roof, making the room and space higher, and bringing a better acoustic sound in the hall. The high windows bring light and give views on the nearby church.

Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks

A central entrance in the armpit of the building complex offers the building an address. The entrance hall connects the different functions and spaces. The use of different types of bricks betray the successive renovations in the past. The new added walls in contemporary bricks build in the recent renovation strengthens the patchwork of different bricks. The meeting centre is so adapted to the modern requirements, with respect for the environment and the users, but also with a whimsical character.

Ground floor plan of Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks
Ground floor plan – click for larger image

A green roof keeps the meeting hall cool in summer, increases the sustainability of the epdm membrane of the roof, and constitutes a buffer for heavy rainfall. The new toilets are supplied with recycled rain water from the existing buildings.

First floor plan of Community Centre Westvleteren by Atelier Tom Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks
First floor plan – click for larger image

Materials are chosen by the score at their circle of life analysis. The used wood is FSC-labelled : the structure of the light interior walls, the windows, extra wooden bars for floors and for fixating isolation. We used fibre boards. The lights are energy efficient. The heating system recuperates the heat of the evacuating gases. We took care of better isolation: we changed all windows in high isolating glass, the roofs or ceilings, the floors and new walls are isolated.

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Vanhee contrasts old and new bricks
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