Duchesse Housing

Programme

Apartments (simplex and duplex), houses, shared garden and common room.

Located on the Place de la Duchesse de Brabant in Molenbeek, Brussels, this housing complex replaces two industrial halls in the interior of the block, taking care to preserve the 1880 mansion over- looking the square. This conversion/densification arranges five flats, two houses and a duplex in three buildings around a planted courtyard. The project was the initiative of an unusually non-conformist private developer, and theatricalises the transformation of the site by freezing an element of the past in its ruined state. Far removed from postmodern formalism, reusing a structural element frees up the space below the building to accommodate the shared workshop. It also brings the continuous evolution of the site to the fore, rather than the amnesiac plastering over of the past that typifies demolition/reconstruction operations. Overall, the language of the new elements is simple and of high quality, with an uninhibited use of raw materials. Without ostentation or luxury in its design, the complex maintains a strong identity in the way it constitutes a community of its residents. It offers generous, well-executed spaces by using standard elements intelligently. The layout of the living spaces is atypical, with arrangements which adapt to the scale of the buildings rather than trying to meet the unimaginative standards of the property market. The dwellings face onto each other and are semi-detached due to the size of the plot. In order to cut down the footprint, the flats are arranged vertically rather than horizontally. Although the rooms are compact, they do not feel cramped, thanks to the openings to the common space. The flats, which are offered for purchase in an affordable price range for Brussels, exude the kind of well-being that typifies residents’ cooperatives. It would be difficult to imagine a family moving in and living a life in isolation. The courtyard and the layout of the dwellings suggest, but do not impose, the ideal of community life. It is an intangible element of the architectural past of the place which has been masterfully transposed into its converted form.

Christophe Catsaros