The Beginning

takes the form of building a roof  that could protectively realize the promises of a young couple.

Ideas of spaces and functions are considered.

In collaboration with Arthur Degeyter, an already established architect in Flanders, their focus is realized. 

Arthur Degeyter, belonging to the Greatest Generation, finds reciprocal understanding with his Silent Generation clients. 

Their eras connect and find common ground in the root of both their focus: 

creating an expression where a renewed spirit chooses values of openness and trust and so move forward into a promising future. 

This collaboration between architect and his clients forms the foundation of the build.

A consensus is reached in the final blueprint of the design. 

A handshake expressed in a style of linear simplicity flowing through sunlit spaces where movement can animate in clarity. 

A sensitivity is established between the quality of light in accordance with the function of each room. 

Just as Gaston Bachelard in his 'La Poétique de l'Espace' attributes deeper philosophical content to each living space, 

so too an interaction has been conceived and realized between the different moods that each space in the house must bring forth; intimacy, conviviality, nourishment, creativity, contemplation, solitude, clear intellectuality, play and rest.

And the focal point? 

The concordance protected,  this architectural design attaches primal value to the positioning of the fireplace. 

Radiating in the middle of the living room. 

A hearth around which people can develop their core in safety. 

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Those protective spaces: solid and unwavering

This is the root.

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Thick, sturdy walls determine the boundaries of the personal, the absence of walls in living spaces protects togetherness.

The house was modestly built in 1962 with dedication and hard work.

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The Middle

grows and expands. A natural movement characteristic of the organic.

The first extension of the house provides a more equipped bathroom. 

And a more convenient cooking space for preparing larger meals, a fitted kitchen. 

The cellar still serves as a pantry.

The second extension provides extra space for family expansion.

The growth of the house honours the style of the build.

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63 years later

and  the early promises have grown into strong identities, each in control of their personal content within well-defined walls.

And just as a person reflects the grooves of living in skin and face, so too the house has weathered. 

That is also organic.

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Today 

the house is offered to a next generation who wishes to pick up this thread but at the rhythm of their own heart.
And thus strengthen the root of the house with their own silent promises.

Such a foundation is eternal. We all carry it within us. A strong root bears strong fruit. That is a fact. We all see that. 

We all feel that.