New York Times: A Modernist Masterpiece in Belgium
TIELT, BELGIUM — As one of two partners in the modernist architectural firm Konstrukto, Georges Vandenbussche typically was beholden to the wishes and whims of his clients. So when he decided in 1964 to design a home of his own on the countryside 22 miles west of the Belgian city of Ghent, Mr. Vandenbussche relished the idea of complete control.
“I wanted to create a space exactly as I wanted, where I could feel at home, but also have an example for future clients,” he said. “At the time, there weren’t any examples around.”
Mr. Vandenbussche’s dream project, a 600-square-meter, or about 6,500-square-foot, modernist masterpiece, included many elements then rarely seen in Belgium, such as a flat roof, huge open living area with no doorways, and floor-to-ceiling windows, along with a host of smaller touches.
The single-story house, set on four hectares, or 10 acres, and completed in 1969, also contains a large master bedroom and three smaller bedrooms off a separate wing, and three bathrooms. It’s on the market for 2.5 million euros, or $2.7 million, through ArchitectenWoning (Architect Houses), a Belgian real estate service based in Ghent that matches buyers and sellers interested in modernist buildings and committed to maintaining their architectural integrity.
“Georges’ house was the first time modernism was introduced here on this level,” said Frederic Rozier, owner of ArchitectenWoning and an expert in modern design.
In 2008, the house was classified as a historic monument for its architectural significance.
For his own inspiration, Mr. Vandenbussche turned to the Austrian-American architect Richard Neutra, known for his light-filled, mid-20th-century dwellings in Southern California.
The similarities are particularly evident in the exterior of Mr. Vandenbussche’s home, which features a white brick facade, its angular line extended by brick partitions. Panels of windows in the front and rear of the house draw in light and natural scenery.
The home is entered through an oversize black wooden door (2 meters high by 1.5 meters wide, or 6.5 feet by 5 feet), with a cylindrical chrome stainless-steel knob custom-made by Roger Bonduel, a Flemish metal artist and sculptor who added other flourishes throughout the interior.
The dining and main living areas, set along a U-shaped floor plan, are divided by 2-meter-high white brick partitions to match the walls. They’re topped with recessed lighting and stand a meter lower than the ceiling.
The ceilings are covered with a shiny dark brown African teak, which extends outside to overhangs around much of the building. While Mr. Vandenbussche welcomes natural light, he wanted to keep out direct sun in the summer months, so he designed the overhangs to block beams precisely from May 1 to Sept 1.
“It stops within a millimeter,” he said with a satisfied smile.
Because modernist dwellings were new to Belgium in the 1960s, Mr. Vandenbussche said it was difficult to find furniture, so he designed many of the fixed cabinets himself. Other pieces, which remain in excellent condition and could be part of the sale, were purchased through Knoll and Gavina, companies known for their modernist furnishings.
Some of Mr. Vandenbussche’s other designs were prescient, including nearly flat stove burners, a tiled walk-in shower and a wall-hung toilet; while others were clever problem-solvers, such as raised thresholds between doorways to prevent carpets from getting stuck in open doors.
The sleeping quarters are off a separate wing and include a large master bedroom with a full bath and front courtyard view, and two smaller bedrooms that look out to a large rear courtyard.
The house is set back 200 meters from a two-lane main country road and is reached via a 250-meter driveway lined with towering sycamore trees. A wide front yard slopes to a cluster of trees, while the back looks out onto pastures. A front patio contains a built-in grill and seating area.
After occupying the house for 47 years, Mr. Vandenbussche, 87, said he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I wanted to create something that would not be a spectacle in the 1960s and then out of fashion 15 years later,” he said. “I wanted something timeless.”
(A version of this article appears in print on December 10, 2016, on page A15, in The International New York Times.)
source: www.nytimes.com
An Airy Home in Belgium Wrapped With Windows
AALTER, Belgium — Starting with their first date as teenagers in 1961, Roger Constandt and Hilde Henckens discovered they shared a love of art and beauty. Later, as a young married couple in the Flemish region of Belgium, the Constandts were determined to own a home that reflected their aesthetics.
They turned to the Belgian modernist architect Achiel Hutsebaut, presenting him with their wish list — a natural setting, a well-planned space to raise their two young daughters, open rooms with ample light and striking architectural elements, all within their budget. Mr. Hutsebaut succeeded on every count, they said.
“Our house was the result of a mutual desire for something that was beautiful and pleasant to live in,” said Mr. Constandt, an insurance consultant who retired as a director of a commercial agency. “In this matter we were, and still are, soul mates.”
After spending 45 years in the 235-square-meter, or 2,530-square-foot, home, completed in 1970, the couple have decided to move to a place that requires no landscaping maintenance. Their house is on the market for 685,000 euros, or about $770,000, through ArchitectenWoning (Architect Houses), a Belgian real estate service based in Ghent that matches buyers and sellers interested in modernist buildings and committed to maintaining their architectural integrity.
The house is in Aalter, a small town between Bruges and Ghent an hour northwest of Brussels. The 2,280-square-meter lot was purchased only after Mr. Hutsebaut’s approval, said Mrs. Constandt, an artist and former high school art teacher.
“He made all the decisions, but we knew his work and had complete trust in him,” she said.
Originally the view to the house was open, but as the once-rural region became more populated, the couple added tall hedges for privacy.
The architecture is an outstanding example of classic modernist style, “with Brutalist touches,” said Frederic Rozier, owner of ArchitectenWoning and an expert in modern design. The Brutalism appears in the light-brown concrete cast onto wooden beams that runs along the top of the exterior and repeated in other spots indoors and out.
“The concrete is very special because it was made on the spot and with nice color, so you can see the grain of the wood inside,” Mr. Rozier said. “It’s a technique that’s not used that much in private homes, but it was used a lot by architects who were really into modernism. It takes a lot of labor.”
The exterior’s center is nearly wrapped by large windows, some of which extend to the ground, while the remaining bottom sections are covered with white brick, which can also be found inside some rooms.
Other touches outside include slabs of concrete and brick that jut out to create geometric shapes and a stylish drainpipe that flows into a circular concrete rain barrel, creating a cascade that in the winter freezes into an abstract sculpture.
Indoors, windows surrounding an airy 45-square-meter living and dining area draw nature into the room, while a large fireplace overhang adds architectural heft. The fireplace has two special features — a grill for cookouts and a separate drawer for ash removal.
Two smaller bedrooms, which share a shower room, have sinks and countertops designed by the architect. Windows wrap much of the 30-square-meter master bedroom and bath, while a conical skylight in the bath area brings in even more natural light. Another skylight down the hall brightens a centrally located toilet. A few steps downstairs lead to a two-car garage.
The couple made very few changes to the house over the years, Mr. Constandt noted, “because everything works as it was designed to.”
source: www.newyorktimes.com