This project is located in the intersection of two streets in a low density quarter of Brussels. The proposal annexes to a previously existing piece, in a way in which each of them has an identity of its own and is at the same time set on the other, composing one unit when read together.
The previously existing house is a traditional type in the area, with dark, faced bricks; slate roof and two floors. Respecting the profile of the previously existing house -with its two-sloped roof- helped to configure the project.
The same solution of the roof is taken to the façade, drawing a geometry that characterizes the ensemble through its edges. The materials of the new roof and façade intertwine both pieces, blurring the limit between them.
In this way, some construction elements seem to invade the neighbouring house, in the same way that the slate roof of the previously existing house seems to invade the roof of the proposal; or the new garage, with an access that embraces in size, shape and material its neighbouring equivalent…
The inner space of the building is articulated through the central position of the staircase. On the lower floor, the garage is annexed to the property wall, while the service strip -which contains the kitchen- is attached to the blind façade, leaving the space in between that reaches both street and garden.
On the upper floor, the service strip is set perpendicularly to the one on the lower level, thus giving bigger privacy to the rooms.
These are closed to the façade facing the street and open to the private side of the plot: a garden where limits are blurred by vegetation. This inner organization responds to an interpretation of the existing typology and aims to respond to the life style of its inhabitants.
Location: Brussels, Belgium
Architects: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
Principal In Charge: Fran Silvestre
Project Team: Ángel Fito, Sevak Asatrián, Álvaro Olivares, Eduardo Sancho, Federico Rubio
Collaborators: María Masià, Jordi Martínez, Fran Ayala, Ángel Fito, Pablo Camarasa, Estefanía Soriano, Sandra Insa, Santi Dueña, David Sastre, Rafa Martínez, Paolo Cirelli, Paloma Marquez
Interior Design: Alfaro Hofmann
Plot Area: 583,10 m2
Built Area: 279,40 m2
Year: 2016
Image: Courtesy of Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
