The passive house gives high-quality urban living a place in a hidden corner of Brussels’ city center. On a very shallow plot between high apartment buildings, the house offers an exciting living solution.The building typology blends a building with an industrial character and a mansion, both building types characteristic to the neighborhood.
A large bay window marks the entrance and organizes the façade composition.
The main component of the building is red-brown brick, cross-masonry in an alternation of colorless glazed and non-glazed bricks. The brick shell folds around the corners on the nines and sides of window openings and of the bay window. Lintels and sills are made of glazed brick that matches the brickwork in terms of color.
The passive house gives high-quality urban living a place in a hidden corner of Brussels' city center. On a very shallow plot between high apartment buildings, the house offers a quality living solution.
The bay window marks the entrance and organizes the façade composition. In this way it forms a reference to the characteristic architecture from the environment, without being historicizing. Lintels and sills are made of pigmented and polished concrete that matches the brickwork in terms of color. The difficult shape of the plot ensures an eccentric position of the stairs in the rear. By applying rounded walls we create a smooth route from the front door.
The main component of the building is red-brown brick, cross-masonry in an alternation of glazed and non-glazed bricks.
Werfstraat
Brussels
Street elevation
Long section
Short section
The ground floor and the first floors are designed in such a way that they can also be rented out as a studio, after the children leave the house.
First floor
Second floor
Third floor
Fourth floor
Axonometric view
- Design teamDirk Somers, Nicolas de Paepe, Carole Boeckx, Sander Laureys, Marius Grootveld & Nuño Zapata
- LocationBrussels
- Year2017 - 2020
- PhotographyDavid de Bruijn