Verbouwe-Van Litsenborgh house Zemst

The Verbouwe–Van Litsenborgh residence is situated at the end of an urban ribbon development that connects to a rural area and protected natural zone. Without wishing to create a caricature of the farmhouse typology or mimic the village architecture, the clients wanted a distinctive house, but one that would also blend seamlessly into the surroundings.

Through the use of one and the same material for the roof and walls, the volume becomes monolithic and omnidirectional, closed and static. At first sight, the square wooden windows would appear to be randomly paced. Yet the size and positioning of the apertures was determined by the staging of certain landscape views. Inside the house, the shape of the volume is made visible through perspectives and floor to ceiling voids.

In the heart of the house on the first floor, an outside shower and sauna also functions as ‘light catcher’ for the master bedroom.