Residence FSD offers harmony between the manmade and the natural, modernity and a site-specific approach, brutalist concrete and a leafy context. Created by Bruges based architecture studio Govaert & Vanhoutte, the private villa is the primary residence for a family living outside Brussels, and wishing to balance a contemporary home with being close to a more natural environment.
Engulfed in its woodland setting, sat just on the edge of a forest, the house feels distinctly modern and minimalist, but it was designed to take its cues from the landscape around it. Nestled in a steep slope, it was shaped by its inclined terrain, with an entrance on the plot's highest point and the main living areas orientated towards the drop and the green views beyond.
Spanning two levels, the brutalist home features a generous, dual aspect piano nobile, where all the main living spaces are located. The master bedroom, a walk-in wardrobe and en-suite bathroom are also on this floor, on the east of the building, flooded in light through a secluded patio that punctures the house's monolithic volume. The lower level contains a garage and facility spaces, such as storage, utility room and a wet room, but also includes a multipurpose room and a further three bedrooms.
RELATED STORY
Openings were planned carefully by the architecture team, working with the sun's path, they explain, in order to help naturally cool down and heat the interior: ‘In the summer the sunlight is partially blocked by the trees. In the winter, the bare trees allow a maximum of sunlight to enter the house.'
Special attention was paid to the areas where the brutalist build space meets nature, so surrounding the house is an abundance of outdoors spaces, such as a long decked terrace, concrete canopies and a striking swimming pool with long forest vistas. As a gesture that shows the architecture's respect towards the existing landscape, the pool's depth was adjusted to accommodate the roots of an old tree on site.
INFORMATION
-
Jaguar reveals its new graphic identity ahead of a long-awaited total brand rebootJaguar’s new ethos is Exuberant Modernism, encapsulated by a new visual language that draws on fine art, fashion and architecture
-
Olfactory Art Keller: the New York gallery exhibiting the smell of vintage perfume, blossoming lilacs and last night’s shameOlfactory Art Keller is a Manhattan-based gallery space dedicated to exhibiting scent as art. Founder Dr Andreas Keller speaks with Lara Johnson-Wheeler about the project, which doesn’t shy away from the ‘unpleasant’
-
Explore a barn conversion with a difference on the Isle of WightGianni Botsford Architects' barn conversion transforms two old farm buildings into an atmospheric residence and artistic retreat, The Old Byre
-
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
-
Sun-drenched Los Angeles houses: modernism to minimalismFrom modernist residences to riveting renovations and new-build contemporary homes, we tour some of the finest Los Angeles houses under the Californian sun
-
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
-
Bruges Triennial 2024 takes over the city with contemporary art and architectureBruges Triennial 2024, themed 'Spaces of Possibility', considers sustainability and liveability within cities, looking towards a greener future
-
‘Interior sculptor’ Christophe Gevers’ oeuvre is celebrated in new book‘Christophe Gevers’ is a sleek monograph dedicated to the Belgian's life work as an interior architect, designer, sculptor and inventor, with unseen photography by Jean-Pierre Gabriel
