Gewad W012

Mirrored Patio House in Gent

This project brings four new apartments together in a way they run perfectly under, over and through each other. The building was erected on the spot where once stood a burnt costume shop. Only the rear facade remained. An urban intervention, but thanks to the old rear facade the original dimensions of the old courtyard were also retained.

‘Rather than the standard scheme of one unit per floor,’ says Vanbelle, ‘we wanted each apartment to have the spatial quality of a detached house.’ With that goal in mind, the architects produced a seemingly endless series of models, exploring how to fit four apartments into the building to create an interesting constellation. Each unit had to have separate levels for living and sleeping, as well as views of street, atrium and inner courtyard.

Whoever enters the building, stands on a particular patio with stairs, balconies and doors in places where you least expect it. The residents meet each other on the patio, or see each other occasionally pass through a window without violating their privacy. The patio and the new rear facade are built with stones recovered from the burned building. Above the patio there's a large mirror made of Dibond. Vens describes the product as ‘thin aluminium panels that are also used for large photographic prints’. The mirrors provide extra light to the adjacent property and to the new-build courtyard, which also serves as a stairwell. ‘We searched endlessly for the correct angle of inclination,’ says Vanbelle, ‘before finally determining the ideal cant by means of trial and error.

The apartments had to be 'houses', hence they have two or even three floors. Each apartment has a separate entrance, which can be reached through the patio, and each has both a street, patio and courtyard side. You can enjoy the fantastic views of the city of Ghent, a private terrace and nooks and crannies that you would not expect in an apartment. Inside there are numerous well-positioned roof and internal windows, and each room receives abundant natural light.