HOUSE VI
Not a subdivision of land, but a place with a history became a starting point. Till nowadays on the terrain there are, almost organically grown with the house, six remarkably big trees: high, slender trees that determined the character of the building, and pushed it into a trapezoidal shape.
In order to take advantage of a maximal incidence of light, it has been opted for implanting of a two level high main volume perpendicular to the street on the north side of the lot. A much smaller volume, enclosing the living room, closes off the completely south-oriented inner area from the street. This resulted visually in the play of two contemporary volumes with only the entrance hall as a connecting element. The carport, taken out of the main volume highlights the play between the volumes. At the same time the border between the public and the private space became not only clearer but also more complex.
The contemporary design of the two volumes has been challenged in a subtle way. The volumes are not aligned with one another - the small one diverges slightly from the building line, while the higher one slants lightly forward.
The choice of the stone follows the same philosophy. It’s been chosen for a craft brick from a Hoffman kiln (Steenfabriek Vogelensangh). The color and the texture, almost a pictorial handling of the surfaces, were the most important criteria in the choice of the facade material: a brick skin that is delicately built around.
Thanks to the craft process in the Hoffman kiln, bricks show many natural color nuances (from intense orange, through red to dark blue). The placing of bricks in a random bond, in rows of varying thickness, not glued but placed by the means of thin brick joints using a traditional mortar, highlights the artisanal character of the brickwork. The brick skin follows seamlessly until the big windows. The slightly tilted front façade, the unaligned surfaces of the facades, the shutters appearing here and there with windows behind ensure an expressive architecture.
