House Ruiselede

date:
2008

client:
private

program:
370m2

team:
Francis Catteeuw + Geert Pauwels

photography:
© Frederik Vercruysse

  • study
  • in progress
  • built

A house for the Van Colen family, located in a typical Western Flemish town. Contrary to the local building stereotype to elevate one’s private parcel, this house is nested into the agricultural landscape. The living area is situated on the first floor, leaving the bedrooms on the ground floor with immediate access to the garden and fields. A bridge/walkway connects the street and living area. Thanks to the principle of the “bel-étage”, the kitchen and living room have a panoramic view on the surrounding meadows.
The house was conceived as an industrial ready-made steel structure enveloping the homeowners’ self-built cluster of rooms. This caused for an unusual, yet intriguing building process that supported the homebuilder’s commitment whilst transcending pure aesthetic intend and the idea of the house as a “finished” entity.