Belgian studio Graux & Baeyens Architecten has transformed a warehouse loft space near Kortrijk into a family home featuring curving walls, vaulted ceilings and muted tones. Located on the outskirts of the Belgian city, the former factory contains a series of empty two-storey-high rooms.
Architects Basile Graux and Koen Baeyens were tasked with adapting one of these spaces into a residence for a couple and their child. The 150-square-metre room was characterised by tall windows and vaulted brick ceilings, but constrained by a pair of steel columns that loosely divided the space into two halves. Graux & Baeyens wanted to make these columns a central focus, but also to prevent blocking the windows, they created a series of new rooms around the perimeter of the space. The high ceilings made it possible for these rooms to be divided up over two storeys – adding an extra 92 square metres of floor space.
The two sets of rooms don't line up, but their facades both curve back and forth like ribbons. Windows were also added to create views between rooms. "The design consists of two levels, they individually drape around the existing columns and unfold themselves towards the windows," explained Graux. "This curtain gradually absorbs light and separates the individual rooms of the living spaces." "The uniqueness of place is created by variations of concave and convex lines, cantilevers and double-height ceilings," he said. The four old windows are left exposed at the front of the home, allowing plenty of light to filter into the open-plan living space, dining area and kitchen – all positioned around the columns.
"The design of this loft is an exercise in filtering light," added Graux. "The undulating surfaces capture the light and let it gradually shift into shadow." To enable the elaborate construction, a new steel structure was installed. Plasterboard walls were used to conceal it, providing curved surfaces that could be coated in a layer of pigmented lime plaster. The existing wall and ceiling surfaces were unified with white paint, as were the columns. Bedrooms are located on the upper floor, while rooms on the lower level include a study, a laundry room and a storage closet.
