House B T 两户住宅丨比利时丨GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten

Architects:GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten

Area:3300m²

Year:2022

Photographs:Dennis De Smet

Lead Architects:Koen Baeyens, Basile Graux

City:Zwalm

Country:Belgium

House B - T - two-family house for a comfortable old age - A house to live in for the rest of their lives, was the explicit request of the clients. Moreover, they loved the concrete architecture of Brutalist architect  Juliaan Lampens. The result of their assignment is an aesthetic two-family house in which brutal materials are delicately combined with a particularly fine finish.

The robustness of the outer shell and the canopies on the scale of the landscape alternate with interventions on the scale of the residents. The house is composed of three plateaus which, with their different ground plan, simultaneously create salvaged breakfast terraces, a spacious living terrace, and structural sun protection. The large windows with their canopies give expression to the building. At the front of the house, guests are "embraced" by the facades that open up on both sides of the wide, pivoting entrance door. At the back are a storage room and carports.

The ground floor houses a home for a care person or family, which has direct access to the garden and, in exchange for the use of the home, eventually provides the client with support with maintenance or shopping. An elevator in the entrance area brings the owners to their residence on the second floor.

There, the living spaces are concentrated around a core and one open space unfolds which, from different viewpoints, nevertheless provides a different vista and identity each time. Following on from this spacious space with wide, ceiling-high windows and panoramic views are the bedroom, dressing room, and bathroom. This floor also has several spacious terraces where the client, without having to go downstairs, can still enjoy the surrounding garden and the vast landscapes.

Robust versus refined - The man-made concrete of the facade forms an intriguing whole with the fine lines of the balustrades. The concrete returns in the garden wall, albeit with a horizontal formwork, which reinforces its anchoring in the surrounding landscape. It is also prominent in the interior, in ultimate balance with natural lime plaster, finely finished afrormosia, and oak veneer. Refined details complete the atmosphere, such as the staircase that leaves space with the wall, allowing daylight to play freely over the full height of the rough structure of the concrete. Or the seating window in the kitchen, which invites you to cozy up while cooking on the island. Even the carport for the mobile home was designed with the smallest details in mind. The rust-colored steel in this construction is a playful nod to the typical corrugated iron of the neighboring farm.

Summary - This care home in concrete combines, on the wishes of the owners, a family home downstairs and a full-fledged house on the second floor where they can live for life in their beloved Zwalm region. The raw concrete combines stylishly with the refined finishes and natural materials of the custom-designed furniture and windows.

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