KASTEEL
In a quiet residential area on the outskirts of Brussels, a 1920s house was transformed into a future-ready open plan home.
This project is the result of intensive collaboration between architects and builder. He created a website on which he kept an inventory of existing materials, collected inspiration images and practical wishes per room. A co-creation session was set up and hé! architectuur was given a SWOT analysis to process.
hé! designed a flexible home that can grow with the residents in the long term. They decide to remove the rear extension, which is not part of the original house.
In its place comes a compact, high and open extension. This lets plenty of light into the house and connects the interior space to the garden. The added structure is a wooden structure with removable bolted joints.
The structure also appears in the rear facade and supports the wisteria that used to grow against the old rear buildings. It was important for he! to preserve this plant. This creates an intimate outdoor room. The new structure follows the rhythm of the existing staircase.
Thus, the first floor of the extension creates an intermediate level between the kitchen on the ground floor and the living room above. A void, with a large glazed area and an exposed stairwell, connects the three levels.
