SHSH

The house is situated in an ordinary subdivision in Ternat, close to Brussels. Local council regulations stipulate semi-detached houses of precise dimensions (we are all free to judge the usefulness of such regulations). In this project all our inventive powers went into researching how to work within this imposed iconic form. The surprise is inside.

Outside, the house looks conventional. Few details catch the neighbours' attention. The flat tiles cover invariably the roof and façades. The openings are unusual : some are on the corner, others are oversized. All different, they punctuate the house at random. However, they are designed from the inside where its location become meaningful. The inside space evokes an image of a fault. Immaculate solids rise up from the ground to the roof, preserving a large space on the ground floor flooded in light coming from the roof and façades.

According to the clients' wish, all the daily functions of the house are concentrated on the ground floor, including the garage, the master bedroom and living spaces like the kitchen, the dining room and the lounge. Then, on the upper floors, the photographer's office, the painter's studio, the childrens' playroom and the guest room are positioned one after another, higher and higher, following a spiral movement.

Once inside, we forget the external form.

Client : Private

Place : Ternat

Architecture : Shin Bogdan Hagiwara, Thierry Decuypere, Jorn Aram Bihain (V+)

Structure : Katleen Mertens