FOULONS

avril, 2023

FOULONS

Renovation of a villa

Description: Renovation and construction of 7 appartements
Type of project: Housing
Type of customer: Regie Foncière
Department: Transformation and construction
Location: Brussels (BE)
Surface area: 540 m²
Year: 2023 –
Contractor:

Located in the heart of the Anneessens district in the Brussels pentagon and close to the Midi station, the project fills the last hollow tooth in the Rue des Foulons. The latter is a lively artery in the district due to the presence of local shops and associations. A strong social cohesion and an attachment to these shops offer the inhabitants of the street and of the adjacent streets a quality of life and an identity that is conducive to the development of a true neighbourhood life.

Our ambition is to work with the intrinsic qualities of the site, to work with the existing. The hollow space will allow the construction of a front building aiming at stitching the urban fabric. At the bottom of the plot, the old building is entirely preserved to enhance the value of a structurally viable construction and to avoid the impact of demolition, with the construction waste that this represents.

The gap between the two buildings is the result of a search for balance between the individual comfort of the dwellings and the distance between the interior facades. The front building has been dimensioned in such a way as to guarantee comfortable accommodation.

A perfect interweaving of the programme has allowed the depth of the building to be reduced to a minimum, creating an open space, wide enough to allow air and natural light to penetrate the heart of the plot. The circulation is implanted in the open space and serves the two buildings. The position of the stairs and footbridges in light construction.

The ground floor of the plot is dedicated to common spaces that will ensure a smooth transition from the street, while offering shared functions to the inhabitants. These spaces are visible to and crossed by all and encourage social interaction between the inhabitants. The sharing of certain spaces is today a major condition for the vitality of social exchanges and can play a role in the ecological transition by sharing the equipment necessary for the comfort of urban life.

Driven by ecological and social ambitions, we have given priority to spatial quality over surface area, by proposing rational, functional and comfortable studios. This choice allows us to free up a part of the ground dedicated to the creation of a permeable, planted common open space, a place of conviviality at the heart of the plot.

AMBROISE

juin, 2022

AMBROISE

Co living Ambroise

Description: Transformation and renovation of an appartement building into a Co living house.
Type of project: Housing – Co living
Type of customer: Private
Department: Transformation and renovation
Location: Uccle, Brussels (BE)
Surface area: m²
Year: 2020-2022
Contractor: MP Instal sprl
Stability engineers: Verhelst engineers
Siteweb: maisonambroise.be

Pictures: Delphine Mathy

The AMBROISE project starts with a meeting between two buildings within the same plot: a Brussels house, with a very elaborate facade on the street frontage, and a warehouse with an industrial character inside the block.

Driven by a project that could keep this link, the owners engaged in a programmatic and spatial reflection aiming at creating links between the occupants, and allowing to increase their quality of life in the city.

By re-imagining and transforming the spaces of the front house within its existing boundaries, it was possible to create a 6-bedroom co-living space. The community has an important place in the project but the process starts with the quality of the private space, for which nothing has been neglected. Therefore, special attention is given to acoustics, materials and design. All the rooms have a generous surface, are accompanied by a shower room, a private toilet, an office corner and vintage furniture.

The top floor under the roof is a common space connected to a large terrace.

The choice of clay plaster for the interior walls, from BC Materials, offers a warm and sustainable character, providing an intimate and natural cocoon in the mineral context of the city.

The project echoes an eco-responsible approach.

BESME

avril, 2022

BESME

Family house in Forest

Description: Renovation of a single house
Type of project: House
Type of customer: Private
Department: Renovation
Location: Forest, Brussels (BE)
Surface area: 400 m²
Year: 2019-2020
Contractor: Nad sprl
Stability engineers : Verhelst Engineers
Pictures: Laurent Brandajs

The project enhances the heritage of this Maison bourgeoise of eclectype style while radically changing the way of living there.

This magnificent house located in Forest, at the intersection of the Albert Tower and Parc Forest was renovated with very little intervention on the existing structure.

The rooms on the street are perfectly restored to their original state, by preserving their volume and reclaiming their heritage.

The central rooms of the first floor, which are without direct sunlight, are dematerialized and transformed into a splendid staircase in half levels. By placing placing the staircase in the center of the house,we create a source of light and visual connections throuw the outdoor.

On the garden side, the façade is open and the brickwork restored.

The project makes intensive use of reused materials, recovered from the demolition of the site or from ROTOR (floors,lighting, hardware, …).