— Project intent
A precise answer to the site and programme.
In Les Isnes, in the province of Namur (Wallonia), STARC designed a contemporary infill extension linking two existing building volumes, addressing a growing family's need for additional functional and living space.
The architectural approach is grounded in volumetric simplicity and visual coherence: the outdated small extension between the two existing structures was demolished and replaced by a new contemporary volume with a flat roof, carefully aligned with the outer walls of both buildings. The flat roof was chosen to avoid awkward junctions between roof planes set at diverging angles, while clearly marking the articulation between the two main bodies. The new volume sits at the same floor level as the children's bedroom wing, and remains slightly lower than the upper floor of the street-facing building.
Materiality plays a unifying role throughout: the facades of the extension are clad in dark grey fibre-cement panels, echoing the tone of the existing PVC window frames. Sills, coping stones and roof edges are detailed in pre-patinated black zinc, lending the ensemble a refined and restrained character. The roof is finished with grey EPDM membrane, and the rainwater downpipes continue the same black zinc palette.
Beyond creating the technical core (WC, shower room, utility room), the project also includes the conversion of the second building's storage area into children's bedrooms, while meeting current energy performance requirements. The outcome is a recomposed property that reads as a single, coherent architectural whole.
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