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This project is located on ’t eilandje, the old port area of Antwerp.
A former multi-generation family home with a ship supply store on the ground floor was transformed into a small scale co-living residency. The space on the third floor is flanked by the old brick walls of the adjacent buildings and covered with a new beam-and-block construction. The front and back end are filled in with windows over the entire width of the space. At the side of the street, the glazed wall is pushed back to create an internal terrace. A staircase pierces the floor on its way to the storey above.
Because of a very limited budget, the goal was to create a qualitative space for short-term occupation with a just a few straightforward interventions. The result can be read as a composition of essential components, in dialogue with the present elements defining the space. The main spatial intervention is the demarcation of the stairwell. In the hallway, the curve of the wall follows the route of the inhabitants using the stairs. On the other side, the roundness evokes a sense of continuity throughout the space. Two sinks and a shower head are ostentatiously mounted and determine where bathing and cooking will be taking place.
The kitchen island and the wardrobe are conceived as simple volumes, clad in mirrored stainless steel. They provide enclosed storage space, while dissolving in the reflection of their surroundings.
A suspended curtain allows the user to create spatial boundaries for the activities taking place. It defines -when desired- a bathroom, a bedroom and a kitchen.
The rest of the composition will be filled in by the user placing furniture, leaving traces after a shower, preparing a meal on the mirroring volume,…
