ArchShowcase Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. HouseVDV in Destelbergen, Belgium by Graux & Baeyens ArchitectenFebruary 13th, 2014 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Graux & Baeyens Architecten This single family house is locatedjust outside the town of Ghent. The plot is part of a domain where us to be a castle destroyed in WWII. Parts of the surrounding wall is still standing and is a silent reminder of this history. House VDV appears simultaneously familiar and strange.
The volume, consisting of one level with a pitched roof, alludes to familiar archetypes such as the rural homestead or barn. But at the same time the volume is broken up by large glass facades, so that the relationship is established with the surrounding trees and the listed castle wall. The mandatory implantation in the back of the plot ensures that the house is conceived as a pavilion. A garden-house with no front or rear, but with two identical facades and a 360 degree experience of the entire plot. The (non-treated copper) cladding gives the project a poetic impermanence, which is echoed in the reflection of the surrounding trees in the glass facades. Shaping a Contemporary Archetype Belgian architecture practice GRAUX & BAEYENS Architecten has just unveiled a newly completed copper-clad house in Destelbergen, a Flemish municipality located in the northern Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. The innovative dwelling has startling architectural qualities that appear to transcend the putative dichotomy between familiar trends and marginal design intentions. Far from indulging in traditional flirtation, the project still provided the architects a unique opportunity to carry out the design of a single-family house boasting a truly contemporary silhouette, that yet remains greatly informed by an explicit archetypal language. In divergence from the traditional form of its steep-sloped roof, the residence erected nearby the crumbling remnants of a castle having suffered heavy damage during World War II, features façades characterised by an extensive use of glass. This allows the natural surroundings to become an integral part of the living experience. Following an irregular arrangement, the ground floor was laid out mostly to accommodate living areas whereas the upper level, accessible via a sweeping spiral staircase, holds bedrooms with slanted ceiling lines. Striving to make all sides equally-appealing, the two-storey structure is organised within a single volume and has no front or back. The choice of non-treated copper for the cladding – likely to turn green through oxidation over time – has helped this contemporary haven creating for itself a powerful image while giving way to its lush rural setting. GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten GRAUX & BAEYENS architecten is a Belgium-based architectural studio led by Koen Baeyens and Basile Graux The practice operates in the field of contemporary architecture, interior and product design. The office is realizing a variety of projects in Belgium ranging from single family dwellings, nightclubs, office buildings anddesign furniture. GBA strives to create ideas that result in one clear formal concept that emerges through continuous questioning and production. Contact Graux & Baeyens Architecten
Tags: Belgium, Destelbergen Category: House |