A Luminous House Divided in Two Separate Volumes Surrounded by Vast Green on Aalter, Belgium

F&C Kiekens by Architektuurburo Dirk Hulpia

“In Aalter, the Kiekens´s House rises from an impressive landscape to be constantly in the picture and function as the home to a marriage couple and their guests in a peaceful and cozy atmosphere.

The villa is placed in the same position where the former warehouses were situated, in front of the street entrance. In this way, the path to reach the front door guides through the house, under the slanted roof in order to obtain an intimate welcome in contrast with the high scale of the house and trees.

The home is made up of two separated volumes characterized by its slanted roofs, opposed to the flat roof and terrain. On the one hand, the smaller volume accommodates the storage, access to the basement and the bureau. On the other hand, the biggest volume contains the entrance, the living room and, on the first floor, a loft/studio for visitors.

An extra volume, smaller in scale and with a flat roof, connects both masses. The kitchen and dining room are situated between the two blocks facing the garden, while the bedroom and bathroom are hidden from the street to have more privacy.

Black aluminium and afromosia wood is chosen for the connecting volumes, to give a warm feeling to the entrance and sleeping room. In order to blur the limits from outside to inside and perceive the feeling of living outside, the windows have the same height as the box.

Brown long bricks and tiles on the roof are the chosen materials for the slanted volumes, this way there seems to be no difference between the walls and the roof. Three big windows stand out , like big eyes, to contemplate the landscape from the inside and give a strong personality to the house.”

Photos by: Architektuurburo Dirk Hulpia & Alejandro Rodríguez