House on Bagattenstraat

A family terraced house with studio space

This house, located in the city of Ghent, was developed in order to provide a generous and spacious family home on a very narrow plot. The various residential functions are stacked in split levels around a central staircase.

This strengthens the relationship between the various compact residential functions and creates a unique spatiality, turning the house in a collection of linked spaces. The layout of the house was completely reversed by placing the living areas upstairs and the sleeping areas below. Compensating for the limited surface area of the house is the beautiful city view. On the ground floor, facing the street, is a multi-purpose reception room that is connected to an inner courtyard. Behind this courtyard is an office/studio space which is situated across two levels. This ground level configuration ensures that the connection to the street is kept alive despite the fact that the house is organised upside down. There is one window in the side wall in the kitchen. This window welcomes in the midday sun and ensures a view on the adjacent city archive building. In addition to the central staircase, there is a lift in the facade area.

The house has a simple structure, that is readable in the interior finish. The facade finish comprises stainless steel corrugated sheets and a concrete plinth with a similar wavy surface.

client private
location Ghent
date 2014 - 2019
status finished
realisation Morti, Yvan Martens; dvd-metaal; Van den Bulcke Nick; Meubelmakerij Verdonck, In ‘t wit, Lieven Deneckere bvba, Karl Taelman; Hoffman polijstwerken
engineering office stability: Jan Hoste, techniques: HP Engineers, garden design: Atelier Arne Deruyter
photography Stijn Bollaert
nominations & awards Nominee for the ArchDaily 2022 Building of the Year Awards.
team NU Freek Dendooven, Marie Bemelmans