AND’ROL architecture

wall house . near Brussels

AND’ROL architecture (Ann-Véronike Roland & Georg Schmidthals) . photos: Georg Schmidthals . + baunetz

The plot's particularities are on the one hand its perturbing position close to a steep rock slope, and on the other hand its small depth and its unusual longitudinal orientation parallel to the street.

Starting point for the young Belgian architects were traces of a nearby former stronghold. The main design element consists of an enclosing wall with a recessed rising part, to which the modest and sober main house nestles and adapts.
A second shallow volume that houses a large number of storage spaces is also located behind the wall.
The architects chose precast concrete lintels as a reinterpretation of the old fortress walls of rubble stone. The relief of the bulging grout reinforces its rough character.
Inside, a split-level organisation responds to the plot's sloping ground, intensifies the open space concept and gives the compact building a generous and spacious character.
The used materials are deliberately kept simple and easy; the bare prestressed concrete slabs, the polished concrete flooring and the concrete bar refer to the enclosing wall.