Uitbreiding woning Leroux - Van Der Hauwaert

(...) Yet for the architect there is also a third plotline in which the details of a house conversion can operate: their relationship with the oeuvre of a recent colleague. This is what happened to Marie-José Van Hee when she designed an extension for a modernist doctor’s house on the Gordunakaai in Ghent. Once a dilapidated storeroom had been cleared out, the new content led to a dialogue with an illustrious predecessor: Paul Felix. Despite the generational difference, Felix’s creation and Van Hee’s extension are in line with each other. Both rely on clear geometry and plain materials. This establishes an area of encounter. However, Van Hee by no means opted to imitate the work of this master architect from Ostend, and even less allowed herself to be intimidated by it. The concrete envelope of the rear volume is tinged with her own introverted simplicity. With serene patience, she sought a link with the existing situation from the interior outwards. The original wall cabinets in the study are continued in the new section by means of the panelling and skirting. At the same time, she upgraded the main building by attaching a generous canopy to the rear façade. The continuous flat bands of smooth white concrete with which Felix delineated the storeys are given a threedimensional counterpart. When the creepers are fully grown, this canopy will form a new volume, a noiseless but highimpact extension. (...)

Rajesh Heynickx - Excerpt from Flanders Architectural Review N°13. This Is a Mustard Factory