BRDN – House conversion in Brussels

The clients wanted larger rooms and a connection to the garden for the conversion of their detached house in Brussels. They commissioned the young Bauclub office, which has specialized in such construction projects in the Brussels region since it was founded in 2020. The transformation of the house, which now makes a completely new first impression, was completed in 2021.

The BRDN detached house is located in the Brussels municipality of Uccle. Located in the south of the Belgian capital, it is characterized by parkland, workers’ estates and villas. Situated on a small street with a view of the Kauwberg nature park, BRDN is to be extended and connected to the garden at the client’s request. To achieve this, Bauclub added an extension to the side and rear, which stands out from the existing building not only because of its metallic roof surfaces.

The main entrance to the BRDN detached house was relocated to the side of the extension and set back from the street. A spacious, covered area in front of the front door not only protects it from the rain, but also provides space for a parking space. By locating the entrance in the new building, which stands out clearly from the house thanks to its metallic appearance, it is easy to identify and by combining it with the driveway, the architects make optimum use of the space around the terraced house.

BRDN is designed to accommodate a family and forms a fluid spatial structure that reflects the path from the street to the garden. This creates a sequence of individual rooms through the building, graduating from more public to more private spaces. The comprehensive restructuring of the floor plan enables a sensible reorganization of the rooms, which optimally integrates the area of the extension into the existing building. Various everyday functions are interwoven in the sequence of rooms in such a way that the identity of the existing building is retained, while the demands and versatility of family life are reflected in the floor plan.

The desire to welcome and accommodate generously and at the same time allow for differentiated spaces resulted in working with half levels from the street to the garden. On the street side, the multi-purpose room (games library) is located in the former living room of the detached house and serves as a buffer between the public and private areas. At the rear of the building, in the extension facing the garden, is the open-plan living area and, a few steps higher, the family’s new dining room. In order to connect the new rooms with the existing building, it was broken up and several steps were added to compensate for the height difference to the dining area. The kitchen forms the focal point of BRDN and plays the role of connecting and bringing together all the different rooms.

Each room and each function of the single-family home is given simple geometries with different heights that distinguish them from one another. From the kitchen, the hub for the various functions of BRDN, you reach the second floor of the house. Here, the bedrooms and bathrooms of the existing building have been renovated and a new bedroom has been accommodated in the side extension. The second floor is available to the parents: A spacious bedroom, a dressing room and a separate bathroom are located in the open attic volume. A dormer window with a large window offers an unobstructed view of the protected Kauwberg nature reserve.

In addition to the large glass façade facing the garden and the translucent sequence of rooms, a series of single-sloped roofs with skylights provide natural light in the BRDN detached house. In addition to providing light, the challenge was to preserve the identity of the existing house while adapting it to the functional and energy requirements of a modern house. The architects from Bauclub work out the original building, making it legible from all rooms. The existing building becomes the focal point of new and old. Existing elements and their materiality are revealed and meet the desire for authenticity, contrast and improvement of traditional techniques.

The extension has increased the area of the existing building from 178 square meters to 238 square meters of living space for the family. The materials chosen are in dialogue with the textures and colors of the existing building. The silver sheet metal façade of the extension can be seen as a bridge to the existing brick façade: The neighboring houses are built horizontally in light, cool stone, while BRDN’s existing building is in red brick. The vertical sheet metal fits into the situation in terms of color, blends in with the surroundings and yet stands out. With the conversion, Bauclub Architekten are not only fulfilling the wishes of their clients – but also their aspiration to transform the existing building without losing its identity.

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