The Black House « I Love Belgium

22
Mar
2012

The Black House

Bruno Vanbesien, architecture, Brussels, Anderlecht, Contemporary, Black, Sky window, Renovation, Classical, I Love Belgium, Blog, Belgian Some houses you pass on the way leave a lasting impression. This was also the case with this stylish black house: your typical Brussels mansion with an a-typical surprising square volume on the roof. The I Love Belgium team always wondered what was to discover behind the façade. One day we ended up on the site of Bruno Vanbesien architects and there it was… the black house we secretly admired when biking around Brussels.

Although the house was heavily changed during time, the architect figured out how to keep the most import characteristics while opening up the house. Traditionally built as separate connecting rooms with their own chimneys, the house underwent a full transformation. One part of the house (on the street side) was kept and restored in the old fashion, the part towards the garden has received a more contemporary finish: this part was stripped of all unnecessary elements and was replaced by a wall of glass. Opening up the house towards the garden and the patio while providing the interior of light.

On the roof of the house a square volume with a complete glass front erected. This didn’t only give the house a contemporary element, it also improved the integration of the house with the other houses. By adding this new volume the transition, that used to be abrupt between the house and its neighbours, is softened. The glass box also gives the inner bathroom a much higher ceiling and plenty of light.

We still love it, and maybe even more.

I LOVE BELGIUM

Bruno Vanbesien, architecture, Brussels, Anderlecht, Contemporary, Black, Sky window, Renovation, Classical, I Love Belgium, Blog, Belgian I LOVE BELGIUM