House DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten

House DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - Garden, CourtyardHouse DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - GardenHouse DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - Door, Facade, Courtyard, PatioHouse DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - Brick, FacadeHouse DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - More Images+ 10

Destelbergen, Belgium
  • Architects: GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten: GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  312
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2011
  • Photographs

Text description provided by the architects. The house is situated in a typical residential area. The plots are characterized by large rear gardens and negligible side garden strips.

The property can be described as a typical Belgian ‘fermette’, or farmhouse imitation from the Seventies.

House DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - Door, Facade, Courtyard, Patio
© Julien Lanoo

The client acquired the property 10 years ago. The brief was to transform the house to ensure spacious, bright and contemporary living.

Unlike the total make-over the client had in mind, the architects chose to conserve the archetype of the farmlike house and add an extension that strived for a dissonance, a confrontation, aimed at sharpening both entities and achieve a symbiosis between old and new.

House DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - Windows, Facade, Garden, Courtyard
© Philippe Brysse

Four volumes are placed against the existing volume as large canvases, to capture light and form a new rear. A fifth, separate volume contains the pool house.

isometric plan 01

These two interventions, the extension and the pool house, thus define the large garden area, connected by the terraces and the pool.

House DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - Garden, Courtyard
© Julien Lanoo

The other parts of the shell remain untouched and preserve the sight of a individually readable volume.

House DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - Facade, Windows, Concrete
© Julien Lanoo

Inside, however, a fusion of old and new is created:

The new space formed by the canvases connects through a continuous wall cupboard to the existing L-shaped living room and opens as a trampled fan into the light.

House DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - Windows
© Julien Lanoo

A long cupboard is placed diagonally and separates the living room from the utility parts (entrance, storage room, bathroom, playroom) and integrates functions like fireplace, library, kitchen, ... Using highly specific constructive interventions the existing house was opened upand was linked to the new rear. This results in an open living space where the garden with its evolving seasons plays a central role.

House DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - Bed, Bedroom
© Julien Lanoo

The wardrobe has a double purpose. Firstly, the living space thus separated from the practical parts (entrance, storage room, bathroom, playroom) and secondly, many different features are integrated (fireplace, library, kitchen, ...)

House DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten - Table, Chair
© Julien Lanoo

The covered terrace is integrated into the new rear.

plans

The new rear is conceived as a timber frame. This dry wall structure is a quick way of working and has led to a reduced construction period.

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Project location

Address:Prinsenkouter 12, 9070 Destelbergen, Belgium

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "House DS / GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten" 02 Jan 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/195261/house-ds-graux-baeyens-architecten> ISSN 0719-8884

© Philippe Brysse

DS房 / GRAUX &amp; BAEYENS architecten

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