Narrow, long and tall house covered in vivacious bricks that brings texture and character to the whole

Architects: DMOA architects
Location: Bierbeek, Belgium
Year: 2015
Area: 4,736 ft²/ 440 m²
Photo courtesy: Luc Roymans
Description:

“A beautiful plot with endless views… but unfortunately next to a truckers company. How to make the most of these two contradictory influences?Our concept: we placed a narrow, long and tall house on the far right of the parcel. The property itself acts as a screen to cover up the unsightly, noisy neighbour on the right.

The right side of the house has a blind facade, while the other side opens freely towards a large, sunny garden, where there is little evidence left of the fleet and accompanying roar. Or how everything falls into place by an atypical choice of implantation and volume …The head of the lengthy volume contains the garage and is closed towards the street. Above lie the children’s rooms, here the volume got a shift towards the left and a large window. This way, the children can marvel to the vista from their beds. Bonus: it gives a nice dynamic to the front elevation.The back end of the volume is cut at an angle and fully glazed. Doing so, the living room maximally enjoys the best part of the panorama.The shape of the house that thus naturally arose from the conditions, is strong in its simplicity.

The windows are large and implanted consciously, like gigantic wooden canvases that frame the landscape. They contribute to the purity of shape. And nothing could disturb it. A garden door is lined with brick, a restroom window is included in a larger whole, a smaller bedroom window is hidden behind atmospheric claustra-masonry…All those big windows are fitted along the outside with screens with horizontal slats. The sun and privacy are continuously filtered to the wishes of the residents.A vivacious brick brings texture and character to the whole. Otherwise, the overall look would have became too slick.The interior continues the purity of form and materialisation.

There is a limited number of materials. Non-plastered walls in planked concrete were the starting point. Wood veneer with similar texture and colour matches harmoniously. The white cast floor and white plastered ceiling let the concrete and veneer emerge even stronger. The kitchen complements this palette with a locally cast concrete countertop and white artificial stone cabinets. In the bedrooms, the atmosphere is warmed by wood parquet flooring.The mood in the house is serene, pure and focused on the tranquillity of the countryside. Vast, gently sloping fields, some trees, a lonely house. You can stare for hours. A nice place to come home to after a busy day filled with impulses.”