Architects: Atelier Vens Vanbelle
Project: Kevin House
Location: Haaltert, Belgium
Architect in Charge: Dries Vens, Maarten Vanbelle
Area 185.0 m2
Project Year 2016
Images courtesy of Atelier Vens Vanbelle
The plot is situated at the end of a dead end street. Next to the plot the landscape begins to slope and you can enjoy a beautiful view. At the side and the back of the plot there is a footpath that is used sporadically by hikers. On the plot there is sun all day long. The Kevin house is built with split levels, which creates intriguing relationships between the various spaces.
The living space was provided on the first floor, on a volume made of concrete blocks. Inside this plinth there was a spacious, semi-underground basement/workstudio; half a level higher – on the ground floor – there is a covered outside entrance, an entrance hall and a storage room/laundry.
The living space is conceived as a stage towards the environment. The space is glazed on three sides, so the sun comes in all day long and gives you the feeling that you are in close contact with the environment. To provide the necessary intimacy to this space, both floor, wall and ceilings were covered with parquet. Four cabinets were placed in the middle of this space. These are functional but also provide privacy in the seating area. The slim columns that carry the closed yellow volume also form a subtle buffer to the environment. It is a space that perfectly balances between open and closed.
Three bedrooms and a bathroom were integrated in the yellow volume. From the open hallway you can enter the roof terrace. Through the window next to the terrace additional sunlight enters to the depths of the house.
The building volume is highly readily materialized, so that the layer-ness of the building is also readable from the outside. There is a dialogue between the house and its environment which makes daily life interactive without compromising the sense of privacy.
