Photographs: Georg Schmidthals
The plot's particularities are on the one hand its perturbing position close to a steep rock slope, and on the other hand its small depth and its unusual longitudinal orientation parallel to the street.
Starting point for the young Belgian architects were traces of a nearby former stronghold. The main design element consists of an enclosing wall with a recessed rising part, to which the modest and sober main house nestles and adapts. A second shallow volume that houses a large number of storage spaces is also located behind the wall.
The architects chose light grey precast concrete lintels as a reinterpretation of the old fortress walls of rubble stone. The relief of the oozing courses of grout reinforces its rough character.
All three remaining facades are clad with dark grey fibre cement panels. The asymmetric roof features a deep-set window facing out to the south.
Inside, a split-level organization responds to the plot's sloping ground, intensifies the open space concept and gives the compact building a generous and spacious character.
The used materials are deliberately kept simple and easy; the bare prestressed concrete slabs, the polished concrete flooring and the concrete kitchen worktop reference the building’s exterior.
Architecture:
AND’ROL architecture
Annvéronike Roland, Georg Schmidthals
Rue Fort Saint-Antoine 24, 5000 Namur, Belgium
Copyrights: AND’ROL Georg Schmidthals