House Bruges

Bruges, Belgium

Photo © Filip Dujardin

Architects: atelier tom vanhee

Location: Bruges, Belgium
Year: 2016

Two disused 17th-century houses on a protected brewery site in the centre of Bruges were rebuilt into a family home (with retail and storage space). The structure was opened up to connect all the spaces on both floors of both houses.

The different window types and added rear façade are the witness of successive conversions over time. The design starts from the changes the building has undergone and adds a new layer. Historically valuable elements (doors, fireplaces, beams, stairs) and new elements go hand in hand and remain legible. A patio and a sloping roof between the existing gable roofs transform the attic into a fully usable space and activate the residual space between the roofs. A vide connects the different floors to each other and brings light from the patio and the trapezoidal window in the attic to the heart of the home. The elevator and the toilet are housed behind recuperated historic cabinet doors. The existing spatial format at the front remains and accommodates the more closed functions of the house. The renovation reallocates a historically valuable building and guarantees its existence for future generations.