This private commission for a single family home is located in a wooded residential area in Belgium. The house is a response to strict legislations on implantation and surface occupancy, as well as a municipality desire to promote housing in the neighborhood.
During the development, we proposed to the promoter an added value: a construction that would be energetically addressed, according to the passive house standards.
This ecological approach led us to a compact construction, avoiding energy losses (dimensions of the openings, orientation of these, thermal bridges, etc.). This option generated many exchanges with the engineers (thickness of insulation, type of frames and glass, lifecycle of materials, techn(olog)ical choices, etc.). This lead us to simplify forms & materials and the resulting normative construction process allowed us to counter the additional budget normally associated with ecological passive standards.
The living room extends on the site. Placing it strategically in counterpoint to the road axis and the noise pollution emanating from it, the building dynamically plays with the landscape that surrounds it. Views and openings from & towards the project are drown and oriented to make the most of the surrounding tranquility. Remarkable vegetation that exists is enhanced through the intervention.
While the ground floor glass and dark aluminum cladding blend into the site, the luminous white plastered first floor comes and floats above it. The house dialogues with its environment using this articulation and plays with the shadows that appear on its facades.