DT House , A young family decides to exchange their apartment in the city for a detached house with a garden on the edge of the city, a stone’s throw from the center, during the Corona pandemic. It is a dated house from 1958 with a number of ‘modern’ features. The assignment was to turn this house into a fresh, contemporary family home with a relationship to the garden and references to the Case-study houses, car, and interior design.
© Stijn Bollaert
The house is situated in a very specific context of the city. On the one hand, it is located in a suburban area, in an old development in the 20th-century belt of Ghent, near the picturesque Leie. This means that this house is slightly elevated in the greenery between old trees. On the other hand, this house is also very close to the centre, approximately 2.5 km from Ghent Sint-Pieters Station. This means that the comfort of both urban and suburban areas is combined on the site.
© Stijn Bollaert
What to do with all the houses in the 20th-century belt around the city, houses that are too good to tear down but not good enough to preserve or restore? Our approach consists of treating the house as a palimpsest, where we strengthen the existing qualities and add new contemporary layers and comfort. In this way, we try to transform the house with respect for older parts into a new, contemporary, future-proof house.
© Stijn Bollaert
In the house, we looked at where the most interesting spaces were. The former garage was situated in a special location in the garden with an east-south-west orientation. For this, we found it important to upgrade the garage to a dining area and kitchen and to connect this space to the living space. This allowed us to create a specific spaciousness and special views. Furthermore, we mainly made very precise interventions as a kind of acupuncture within the existing structure.
Project Info
Architects: AE-architecten
Country: Belgium, Ghent
Area: 130 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Stijn Bollaert
Design Team: Jack Bailey, Duarte Miranda
Engineering & Consulting > Civil: H110
Sophie Tremblay is a Montreal-based architectural editor and designer with a focus on sustainable urban development. A McGill University architecture graduate, she began her career in adaptive reuse, blending modern design with historical structures. As a Project Editor at Arch2O, she curates stories that connect traditional practice with forward-thinking design. Her writing highlights architecture's role in community engagement and social impact. Sophie has contributed to Canadian Architect and continues to collaborate with local studios on community-driven projects throughout Quebec, maintaining a hands-on approach that informs both her design sensibility and editorial perspective.