Hand-Made long-format facing brick unifies modern villa in forest setting

Contemporary house with powerful dynamic and strong lines

This house is situated in a green residential area in Sint-Kruis Bruges on a south-facing plot. The client wanted a modern, contemporary home with a swimming pool and maximum interaction with the forest setting while retaining sufficient privacy.

In order to translate the extensive construction programme architecturally, the decision was made to construct the floor as a ‘floating’ solid volume in brick on top of a light, ground floor plinth with façades in timber and glass. In contrast with the completely open rear façades, this plinth forms a closed wall with a horizontal character at the front.

This effect is strengthened by the garden wall on the right-hand side and the garden gate on the left-hand side which are integrated in line with the front façade. The transparent rear façades have wide, overhanging canopies both on the ground floor and on the upper floor to provide shade and stop the heat from building up indoors. These canopies also contribute to the dynamic architecture of the house and reinforce the openness of the spaces to the green surroundings.

The decision to use the exclusive Infinitum 7012 facing brick constituted an important aspect because the natural colour pallet integrates perfectly with the green forest setting and combines well with the black oiled timber façade cladding and the black aluminium windows.

The long format in turn contributes towards the slender proportions of the eaves and canopies in the façade designs and contrasts with the vertical timber façade cladding in the form of block battens on the rear façade. As a result, the volume of the floor seems to float, creating a powerful dynamic with an attractive interplay of lines. At the front, the Infinitum facing bricks reinforce the horizontality of the solid floor volume.