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Project Details:

Location: Roosdaal, Belgium

Footprint: 3,681 square feet

Architect: Hé! Architectuur / @he_architectuur

Builder: Inhout

Structural Engineer: Roel Van Hee

Photographer: Tim Van de Velde / @tvdvphotography

From the Architect: “In the 1990s, Marc and Ann bought a ‘turnkey farmhouse-style’ home in the Pajottenland in Belgium. More recently, they approached Hé! to renovate it in a sustainable way. The house and its location hold strong emotional value for the couple. They hope to grow old here. Despite the house’s location in the hilly surroundings, the connection with nature had been lost; their aim was to restore that connection. They envisioned an open house centered around an earthen stove.

“At first glance, renovating a typical ‘off-the-shelf’ Flemish ‘fermette’ didn’t seem like much of a challenge. This type of home dominates the local landscape, fails to meet today’s energy standards, and is generally not regarded as valuable architecture. But Hé! quickly became intrigued by the question of what the future of this kind of housing could be.

“Hé! began with an analysis of the home’s existing organization and its disconnection from the surrounding environment. The architects chose to ‘cut open’ the house to break away from its traditional organization. Their approach focused on densification, making the home more compact. The owners’ daughters’ former bedrooms made way for a winter garden, bordered by a thick rammed earth wall. Thanks to its thermal mass, this wall acts as a buffer: on cooler days, sunlight warms the winter garden and the wall, radiating heat inward; on hotter days, the wall helps keep the space cool.

“The former hallway and office unfold into a new living room that opens onto the winter garden. The once-generous entrance hall became a cozy seating area by the earthen stove, which replaces the old oil boiler and now provides central heating. The former garage has been transformed into the new entrance. The white interior walls are now finished with a red clay plaster. On the ground floor, a spacious bedroom and compact bathroom ensure the home is suitable for lifelong living.”