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Town house EM by Areal Architecten

Belgian studio Areal Architecten inserted this brick and concrete townhouse into a residential streetscape in Mechelen near Antwerp.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

Internally the three floors are united visually by a void topped with a skylight, which brings light down the stairwell to the ground floor.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

This internal "canyon" separates the open-plan living spaces from the bedrooms.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

"It’s a single family row house in the city but with amazing views and voids, and the use of a combination of raw and refined materials," says Thomas Cols of Areal Architecten.

House-in-Mechelen-by-Areal-Architecten-2

The brick facade is sliced and faceted to relate the otherwise austere volume to its neighbours.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

Instead of a front door onto the street, the house is entered via a porte-cochère.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

Inside, the material palette is restrained, with ribbed concrete soffits, brick walls, timber and concrete floors and large internal single-pane windows.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

The staircase is of white-painted steel and features blade-like treads.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

The upper floors are of timber while the living quarters and kitchen have fitted timber-fronted storage units.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

The open-plan first floor features a living room giving on to a terrace while the kitchen is on the ground floor.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

The stone-clad ground floor rises in steps to manage the transition between the street level and the lower garden.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

Here's some text from the architects:


House in Mechelen

By a set of subtle surfaces, the front facade is struggling to blend into the template of the street. It balances between integrating and standing out. Inside a continuous open space made of large and generous rooms, connected to each other by some unexpected views creates a compressed urban-like space.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten

A “canyon” of light allows to create a dinstinction between the living spaces and the bedrooms while extending itself to the ground floor through a void which receives the staircase.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten
Site plan

The traditional spaces of a house are put together here into a single organic space with raw finishing such as a concrete grid on the ceiling and the prominent interior brick wall.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten
Facade

A difference of level on the ground floor creates a smooth transition between the street and the back of the house which is ended with a longitudinal garden.

Through precise openings and a terrace in extension of the living room, the boundaries between inside and outside in this townhouse are fading.

Project title: Town house EM

Architect(en): AREAL  ARCHITECTEN

Location: Vrijgeweidestraat 42, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium

Finished: March 2013

Program: single family house, house in a row

Client: private commission

Built surface: 340 m²

Architect's website: www.arealarchitecten.be

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten
Ground floor plan
House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten
First floor plan
House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten
Second floor plan
House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten
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House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten
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