Description

This duplex apartment is situated on the third and fourth floor of a building in the centre of Brussels. Multiple unused small closed spaces on the fourth floor are replaced by one large living space. The dilapidated ceiling at the backside disappears and offers the apartment a renewed spaciousness. Large windows along the rear facade are folded around the terrace and bring the urban landscape to the heart of the house.

The many shafts and chimneys that cross the apartment because of the underlying functions, are not hidden. On the contrary, they form a crucial part of the interior and create a sequence of spaces. We stripped the masonry of the shafts and the common wall. To accentuate the shafts and the spaciousness of the apartment, a couple of roof windows are added. This creates a changing play of light and shadow throughout the day.

The bricks of the party wall along the terrace continue as well in the interior. The different kinds of bricks show de many historical layers of the building.

Drawings