WATA BOOK 2022 October 2022 | Page 122

WINNER IMAGINE WATA

K residence Kalmthout , Belgium

by Eva Koch Architecten
Eva Koch , architect : “ Controlling the incidence of light was an important aspect of this design . This wide plot is oriented north and is indeed beautiful among the mature trees . This made it a bit of a puzzle to keep enough light . We were allowed to build very wide : the house is now about 40m wide . That long space is now an important feature that the children are of course very happy with ; they can do some serious sprints here in the house . This north-facing orientation is particularly nice because it gives us a rear facade with many and large windows . With a south-facing house , this would be a lot of hassle with screens , roofs , air conditioning … now we are surrounded by greenery across the entire width , without extra efforts to keep it liveable . The south side is almost completely closed , except of course for the spacious office .
Living spaces and office are nicely separated by the entrance hall : that is a practical choice that I have made very consciously . Every room in this house has its own place , at the same time everything is connected . Socializing is nice , but being able to withdraw somewhere in the house can sometimes be necessary . Bringing contrasts together to reinforce each other is quite a big part of the story here .”
You have to maintain a balance . For me , functionality weighs heavily on quality of life . I personally find practical design and optimal use of spaces more important than the use of the most exclusive materials . Take the floor here : it is a solid wooden herringbone pattern , but it is made from residual wood , so that it remains affordable and sustainable . The same goes for the kitchen and bathroom . For the kitchen worktop and the bathroom finish I opted for solid core : very hard , user-friendly and beautiful , but less expensive than the usual materials or natural stone . Building is getting more and more expensive . When people have to choose between expensive materials or , for example , an extra room , I tend to convince them towards the latter . Please note : exclusive materials and pieces can be very beautiful and definitely offer added value , but if I can choose , they are not at the top of the hierarchy . Ultimately , a house should not depend too much on the materials and colors . By playing with the spaces as an architect , you must be able to transcend that , so that a house in completely different shades comes into its own .
Limiting the number of different materials also provides extra peace and clarity . That is why you mainly see the same light tones in this house or , more playfully ; the blue-green of the kitchen that refers to the green-blue in the living room . The floor was largely extended , except in the kitchen and the office where travertine was used . For the lighting , we mainly chose surface-mounted fixtures . In this way we largely avoided the additional cost of drilling , grinding … It is also a flexible way to let the spaces grow with you . Are you tired of something ? Then you hang something else .
A certain uniformity has therefore been chosen , but that of course does not prevent the spaces from standing on their own . That remains an important aim : to give each space its own identity , organically fitting into the whole .
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