— Project intent
A precise answer to the site and programme.
In Ottignies, in the province of Walloon Brabant, STARC architecture firm designed a residential development organised around two distinct volumes set slightly back from the street, within a periurban context typical of the region. The staggered arrangement of the two built units creates a compositional depth that engages with the surrounding residential fabric, while a continuous hedge ensures a seamless transition between the public realm and the private domain.
The chosen massing draws directly from local morphology, with two-storey volumes topped by pitched roofs. The facade materiality plays on a carefully controlled contrast between orange-toned brick, rooted in the regional building tradition, and light-coloured rendered bands that structure and visually lighten the elevations. This alternation produces a legible, unpretentious facade rhythm that ensures the landscape integration of the ensemble while lending it a distinctive character.
The fenestration is deliberately restrained and thoughtfully distributed, providing natural light adapted to interior uses while preserving the occupants' privacy from the street. Roof lights supplement the daylighting of the upper levels. The compactness of the volumes, combined with the consistency of the material palette, gives the whole a strong architectural coherence that responds to the scale of the neighbouring buildings without mimicking them. The project was completed in 2019.
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