幽灵蟹进化式住房丨比利时丨O.U.V.R.A.G.E.S.

Architects:O.U.V.R.A.G.E.S.

Area:395m²

Year:2025

Photographs:Maxime Delvaux

Manufacturers:Chrono Metallurgie,Tailor Wood,Veranda Service,Weldconception

Category:Residential Architecture,Houses

Design Team:Fiachra McCarthy, Artem Alexandrov, Louis Cassiers, Sébastien Bez, Daphne Meeus (Interiors), Prana Aquitania (Interiors)

Office Lead Architects:Louis del Marmol, Dimitri Stassin

Engineering & Consulting > Structural:Verhelst ingénieurs

Engineering & Consulting > Environmental Sustainability:Brouae

Engineering & Consulting > Mep:Hydrotec

General Contractor:EDK

Interior Design:DM Interios

City:Watermael-Boitsfort

Country:Belgium

Text description provided by the architects. The project transforms a former neighborhood restaurant in Watermael-Boitsfort (Brussels, BE) into a set of adaptable dwellings, rooted in the heritage value of the existing building. In an uncertain ecological and economic context, reprogramming such a building for a single, fixed use appears increasingly inadequate. The project therefore rejects a deterministic approach in favor of a restrained, legible, and forward-looking architectural strategy.

The architectural plan is organized around three vertical circulation cores that rhythm the existing volume and clearly structure the interior layout. Beyond their immediate function, these cores are strategically positioned to enable multiple scenarios of occupation over time.

While the building is initially designed to accommodate a single family, it can later be divided into three independent, high-quality dwellings with minimal intervention, each benefiting from its own outdoor space. This capacity for transformation is embedded from the outset, turning the anticipation of change into a true design driver rather than a future constraint.

The architectural intervention also focuses on a measured extension of the existing structure. On the ground floor, an extension increases the usable floor area and reinforces the domestic character of the project. Above, the roof is subtly raised to make the attic space habitable. The newly created volume allows for the introduction of a loggia in the top-floor apartment, bringing depth and daylight through two large sliding roof openings.

This clear and contemporary gesture distinguishes itself from the original building without imitation, allowing the heritage structure to remain legible while being reinterpreted. Both the ground-floor extension and the roof elevation are constructed using load-bearing timber structures and bio-based materials.

By anticipating evolving uses and asserting restraint, the project proposes an alternative to programmed obsolescence. Architecture is no longer defined by a single moment or function, but by its capacity to support change over time, extending the life of existing buildings while carefully negotiating between heritage, density, and contemporary living.

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