Huis VDB
Collectief Noord Architecten
Antwerpen
This historical terraced house in Antwerp was renovated by Collectief Noord Architecten. The rear of the house was raised slightly to create a split-level system with visual relations between one floor and another. At the back, the existing bay window on the first floor was extended downwards to the level of the garden. The bay window lets daylight penetrate deep into the half-sunken kitchen space. This way, the formerly dark basement has been turned into a bright space to cook, eat and live. Moreover, through the open stairs in the heart of the house, the bay window reinforces the visual link between the kitchen space and the first floor. Outside, the figure of the bay was treated very subtly, as if it had always been there. This original, commonplace architectural figure is now slightly distorted and has become a moment of fun.
- Louis De Mey
This project is part of the exhibition Composite Presence in the Belgian pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.
Collectief Noord Architecten: "House VDB consists of a refurbishment of a common two-bay row house in the dense urban fabric in the northern part of the city of Antwerp. Collectief Noord adapted this typology by including the basement floor in a new split-level speciality. By extending down the rear window, the optimized living space orients itself to the small, private garden. This coming together of reinterpreted typologies refers to a Composite Presence"
