At the tail end of the Brutalist movement, in 1974, the Belgian architect Juliaan Lampens completed a residence in Sint-Martens-Latem near Ghent for the teacher Albert Van Wassenhove.
Built for a single man, it was considerably different from other, larger-scale manifestations of Brutalism around the world. Devoid from the usual urban and socialist connotations, this home was envisioned for just one person in a wealthy and quiet neighbourhood. With its closed grey concrete facade and tall rear glass windows that open up to a back garden, the bunker-like house favours privacy – turning away from society and toward indoor tranquility, in harmony with nature.
Between February and October 2015, local museum Dhondt-Dhaenens renovated this singular house. 'It was more a matter of freshening it up,' says Tanguy Eeckhout, curator at the museum. 'There was almost no decay of the concrete, unlike with other Lampens buildings.'
Now, from April until October, the Van Wassenhove House will welcome architecture enthusiasts, who want to experience the home for a weekend; artists, writers and researchers can stay for longer-term residences.
The home's main feature is its open-plan design in which all residential functions are connected with the living space as the focal point. Seclusion is impossible even in the bedroom, which is simply a 1.5 m high wooden circle, open towards the concrete ceiling.
'Lampens built about 35 residential houses in his unique style,' says Angelique Campens, a member of the Juliaan Lampens non-profit who has carried out major research on the architect. His version of Brutalism 'is a purely stylistic form, with buildings primarily characterised by their rough and sculptural qualities and a material "honesty": they are often built in raw concrete, where the wooden forms reveal the in-situ casting.'
'His houses examined other, more intense ways of living,' explains Van Eeckhout. 'This is why we thought it important to preserve the building's residential function – not turn it into a museum.'
Located in Sint-Martens-Latem near Ghent, the house was designed for a single man and sits within a rich and quiet leafy neighbourhood
Its grey concrete facade has few openings. The garden features a small pond that collects rain water
The bunker-like structure was designed to favour privacy, orientated towards the nature
The house has recently been renovated by local museum Dhondt-Dhaenens
Bearing the signature of its creator, the house was in good state of preservation
The interior is radically open plan – even the bedroom is simply a 1.5 metre high wooden circle, open towards the concrete ceiling
Now, from April until October, the Van Wassenhove House will welcome architecture enthusiasts, who want to experience the home for a weekend
INFORMATION
For more information visit the museum’s website
-
Take a bite: Laila Gohar and The Luxury Collection’s ‘Cakes & Candles’ are a sweet treat for the sensesLaila Gohar’s six cake-inspired candles draw on The Luxury Collection’s hotels around the world – where guests can enjoy matching edible confections
-
The Wallpaper* guide to party dressing with abandonDecadent get-ups to let your sartorial hair down this festive season, ready for a month-long marathon of hedonism and indulgence
-
C-Next Designers Europe hosted by Cosentino is forging the future of the interior design industry220 interior design professionals from 30 countries attended the invite-only event in Almeria for two days of factory tours, workshops and panel discussions
-
Soviet brutalist architecture: beyond the genre's striking imageSoviet brutalist architecture offers eye-catching imagery; we delve into the genre’s daring concepts and look beyond its buildings’ photogenic richness
-
Is Rochester Street Office a creative worker’s dream? Inside a Sydney workspace echoing calmness and lightRochester Street Office by Allied_Office merges utilitarian design with cascading vegetation, presenting a thriving environment for creativity and collaboration
-
Remembering Alexandros Tombazis (1939-2024), and the Metabolist architecture of this 1970s eco-pioneerBack in September 2010 (W*138), we explored the legacy and history of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, who this month celebrates his 80th birthday.
-
Green Ark, a new garden pavilion from modified softwood, is conceived for plant conservationThe Green Ark, set in the heart of Belgium's Meise Botanic Garden, is an ultra-sustainable visitor pavilion by NU Architectuur Atelier
-
Residence Norah is a modernist Belgian villa transformed to its owner’s needsResidence Norah by Glenn Sestig in Belgium’s Deurle transforms an existing gallery space into a flexible private meeting area that perfectly responds to its owner’s requirements
-
‘Brutalist Plants’ is a new monograph capturing the best of eco-brutalism'Brutalist Plants,' the new book by Olivia Broome, captures concrete architecture engulfed with nature
-
All hail the power of concrete architecture‘Concrete Architecture’ surveys more than a century’s worth of the world’s most influential buildings using the material, from brutalist memorials to sculptural apartment blocks
-
Three Object Apartment embraces raw concrete honesty in the heart of AthensThree Object Apartment by DeMachinas is a raw concrete home in Athens, which confidently celebrates its modernist bones
