WAVP - Loods n°9 | BASIL architecture

NEW BUILDING IN A FORMER SHED

A mathematical steel skeleton on the spot where there used to be a warehouse has now become a home with studio space. 'We built as deep as we were allowed to go according to the building restrictions, creating a home in which the residential functions follow each other logically'.

NEW VOLUME BETWEEN COMMON WALLS

Robin Van Beveren of BASIL architecture created this fine home in what used to be a densely built shed on the outskirts of Bruges. The shed was not reusable, so all we had was a narrow plot and two common walls. There were two options: either it became a typical townhouse, or we did what we wanted within the available volume of the former warehouse. Because the common walls couldn't be changed, we didn't have to consider many restrictions. We worked with a steel skeleton, mathematically constructed: a steelframe every three meters, eleven times in a row. This steel structure is the only load-bearing element, the rest are removable light walls'. The structure is also clearly visible: the black beams, together with the concrete floor, are a subtle reference to the site's industrial past. This house is therefore not a rebuilding, it is a replacement new building.

33 METER

The steel skeleton is separate from the adjoining walls: 'We have worked with front walls. In this way the house is separated from the common walls both thermally and acoustically'. The architect was allowed to build 33 meters deep - eleven times three meters. Two cut-outs were made into the rectangular volume: one for the small patio and one for the garden. The spaces are connected one after the other. At the front of the house is the studio area, at the back the private area. The living room is positioned at almost thirty meters from the street, which guarantees absolute privacy. But this allows the residents to isolate themselves from the outside world in their own cocoon. Not that the residents live in a dark cave. We wanted to avoid that feeling anyway. The garden facade is fully glazed, which means that there is at least as much daylight and sunlight in here as in a standard house, even much more. We deliberately positioned the living room at the very back of the house, where there is no circulation, because that way it forms the end point of the house'. And thus, also the symbolic end point of the day.

ARCHTYPICAL FORM

This studio house is hidden behind a striking facade in Corten steel. The shape refers to the roof shape of the old shed. We've retained that slanting line, and you can feel it on the entire upper floor. You enter along the garage/entrance/playroom, which is painted completely black and forms one open space up to the ridge. By painting the tightly plastered walls of the living and working spaces behind it white, we accentuate the archetypal volume of the house and its steel frame, and so the entrance has something monumental. Behind the garage is the professional area, with a studio on the ground floor, and an office space on the second floor. The studio is located between the glazed entrance hall and the small patio, which serves as a light well and hinge point between the private and work areas, but also serves as a sandpit for the children of the residents. The office space is connected by a passage next to the patio, running to the private rooms at the back of the house. The professional part of the house, at the front, has been designed in such a way that it could easily be transformed into a duplex apartment.

Because we have worked with a steel skeleton, the whole house could actually be redeveloped as you can easily strip it. This flexibility, which allows a home to grow with the needs of its occupants, is, in our opinion, the most important form of sustainability in architecture'.

WISELY BUDGETED

This project shows that aesthetics doesn't necessarily have to be expensive. For example, a simple standard kitchen was chosen and all the interior joinery - such as the black storage box - was later built around it. That's how the kitchen seems to be made-to-measure. The lighting was also kept very budget-friendly, while it still looks best in terms of design. Classic fluorescent tubes in the desk, simple porcelain sockets in the ceiling, one black DIY lamp in the bathroom'. Also, budget-friendly but still eye-catching is the black lacquered floor in OSB slabs on the upper floor. Classic tongue and groove plates painted with a PU paint, that's all'. The recovery of some materials from the former warehouse was also considered: 'Two original roof trusses of 8m long now serve as a garden bench'.

HOLIDAY FEATURES

A lot of people are amazed when they come in here', the architect smiles. The contrast between the closed steel gate and the experience of space inside cannot be greater. People assume that it is dark and small here, but it isn't'. Sliding floor-to-ceiling windows on both floors enhance the airy vacation feeling that radiates from the house. By working with three shades, black, white and natural wood, the interior is contemporary, but not sterile. An architect must dare to allow atmosphere, by choosing special furniture for example. A mix of design, customization and average standard keep the whole in the 'renewed' shed balanced. Both in the living space and in the office, we see narrow black lacquered rails along the walls, on which a photo frame rests here and there. The intention is that there will be furniture and bookshelves hanging on them in the future. These original interventions turn this house into a truly personal project, which can grow perfectly with its residents.