This project was designed for a couple who wanted a converted loft that made efficient use of the space, which included an unfinished surface of 1,030 square feet, walls made of terracotta blocks, a raw concrete ceiling, windows on two of the four walls, and two technical ducts.
The architects sought a purity of form and functional simplicity through the creation of two new volumes, three pieces of furniture, and use of a very limited set of materials. The result is two internal bodies that embrace the envelope without touching it; opaque, translucent, airy, and abstract.
The two metallic volumes on the ground floor house the two areas that require closing doors: the bathroom and the laundry room. The top floors conceal a bedroom and an office.The position of these volumes alongside technical ducts determines different volumes with different qualities.
The three pieces of furniture then structure and give function to the remaining space: a long kitchen cabinet in a narrow space between the entrance and the laundry room, a wall of storage near the entrance, and a library in the more intimate space that leads to the balcony.
The materials include polyurethane screed for the floor; solid or perforated metal for the structuring elements, and stratified MDF for the furniture, with a paint finish to exacerbate the texture of the various materials. The ceiling is kept as-is to remind of the pre-existing unified volume.
Photos: Filip Dujardin