Wooden House Behind Old Workshop Walls in Flanders

The grandfather of the young client spent his entire life working in the carpentry shop on the long, narrow lot in the Belgian city of Drongen. When this client and her partner decided to build on the land, they wanted to keep some parts of the somewhat dilapidated existing building. 

Only the exterior walls remain

Raamwerk demolished the roof as well as the remaining ceilings and interior walls of the two-storey existing structure. They also removed the window frames and doors. They have set the new house, a wood-framed building, on the original foundation. The materials required were already on the building site: most came out of storage in the old workshop. 

Charming space in between

A saddle roof connects the new building to the existing structure. It almost seems as though the roof were floating above the exterior masonry walls, for the rafters are linked to the wall coping only via thin mandrels. Corrugated polycarbonate sheeting covers the roof; sunlight falls through this into the open spaces between the existing wall and the new house. 

Seasonal fall of light

The green-varnished plywood panels of the house’s new façade peek out from behind the whitewashed exterior walls. This colour pays tribute to the shade of the gates of the old workshop. The positioning of the windows refers to the openings in the outer shell, which allow daylight to stream in according to the season. In the wintertime, when the sun is low, they let the light fall directly into the spaces; when the sun is higher in the summertime, they act as sunshades. 

The windows in the new house refer to the openings in the exterior wall. © Stjin Bollaert

A sheltered yard

The planning team have had the adjacent sheds covered in, and the roof truss has been preserved. This creates a sheltered, green yard for the young family. The simple construction kept costs down as the clients were able to do much of the work themselves.  

The covered shed has become a green yard. © Stjin Bollaert

Inspired by previous use

The floor plan is uncomplicated. In the middle of the house, a foyer with stairs and a supply core accesses two spaces: the kitchen and living room on the ground floor and two bedrooms on the upper level. The living space of 100 m² can be extended as needed into the covered outdoor areas. The materials were inspired by the previous structure. With visible wooden ceiling beams, wooden panelling in the reveals and dark-grey mastic asphalt that gives a nod to the floor of the old workshop, the choice of materials is reminiscent of the former use. 

Read more in Detail 5.2024 and in our databank Detail Inspiration.