Highrise appartement renovation
The search for Hannelore's first home of her own begins in the Covid period in 2020. Together with her then roommate bubble, they try to make the endlessly repeating walking tour in their own city of Ghent a little more interesting. Through a thesis that summarized all post-war high-rise projects in Ghent, new routes were mapped out. And those residential towers had something fascinating: how beautiful would the view be in such an apartment? At the same time, the idea of looking out for a place of my own matured almost simultaneously. With the budget for a 1-bedroom apartment and was at the top of the wish list: a private outdoor space/terrace, and those two features are not often found together. Meanwhile convinced of the spatial qualities of the residential towers, the search began with 1 parameter: only apartments from the high-rise list were considered.
The highest residential tower in Ghent stands in the Groene Vallei-park, on the edge of the city center, and has 26 floors. After a handful of visits in other residential towers, Hannelore found her first home here, on the 16th floor. The apartment had not changed since it was built in 1978 but the view was spectacular. With a large sun terrace.
With an area of 55m2, the starting point was to create as much spaciousness as possible and focus on the view. The construction of the building allowed for the easy demolition of all the interior walls in the apartment and to puzzle the spaces back into the empty box.
In the existing layout, the bedroom and living space lay side by side against the exterior wall. The narrow kitchen behind had no natural light. And along with a far too large entrance hall, the actual living room was actually very modest in area. Space for a sofa and a table against the wall.
After long consideration, the functions were completely mixed up. The contour of the exterior facade is visually copied twice in the apartment, between which the various spaces are placed. The dining area and kitchen were given priority and moved to the facade. In this way, the width of the space doubled and so did the view. In the segment behind, the sitting area and bedroom are provided, in the last part the bathroom and entrance hall. Three orienting frames: aluminum, red and blue. The colored contours continue in floor with recovered marble strips, inspired by the floor pattern of the entrance hall of the building.
In the center, a piece of furniture is placed that has a different function on each side: closet in the bedroom, bookcase in the sitting area, kitchen island for the kitchen. The style is adopted from the period of the time: 70s-80s transition with a matching touch of kitsch. Clad in aluminum as a continuation of the windows and finished with a granite countertop. On the side of the sitting and dining area, the back wall is elaborated in mirror, doubling the books/glasses in view and making you seem to be looking through the cabinet.
Kitchen: back wall is open on the side so you maintain maximum view to the outside.
Combination aluminum and brass accents
Bedroom: will have its own interior window. The wide distance between the kitchen wall and the central furniture maintains an unobstructed view to the outside. Curtains all around in the room provide both screening from the closet, privacy between living space and sleeping space and blackout.
Bathroom: new layout with rear shower stall. The tub with toilet and sink are accentuated in tiles with 80's blue and red joints
In the entrance hall a large storage closet including washing machine and a checkroom closet. Partition in glass (acoustic barrier between bathroom and common hallway) so that hallway is visually included in the living space.
