House Machelen

This house is built on a plot of land located off the street, behind a row of villas. As there are no direct neighbours, the building is subject to hardly any building regulations. An exceptional situation which shifted the main design question to how to design a house that gets the maximum from its surroundings.
This question led to the scenic, basic vision of a ‘plan libre’: a dwelling that fits between a floor and a ceiling, separated by a grid of columns. All extra elements (walls, windows, etc.) are thus ‘free’, non-bearing. The concept allows us to create a very open plan where spaces are flowing into each other, with fascinating views through the house as a result. As an extension of the exterior, the house is a mini (interior) landscape in itself. The facades are a direct result of the functions that lay behind it and the specific natural elements in front of it. There is no designed front or back – all four sides are differently influenced and thus differently formed.