— Project intent
A precise answer to the site and programme.
In Wavre, in the Walloon Brabant province of Belgium, this renovation and transformation project brings together the two upper levels of two adjoining buildings to significantly extend an existing apartment with larger and better-quality living spaces. Two long-vacant and heavily deteriorated floors, located directly next to a constrained apartment, are fully rehabilitated to create a generous residential programme.
The two buildings are connected by a small glazed flat-roofed linking volume, set back from the building line and invisible from the public realm. This junction element introduces natural light deep into the apartment and opens onto a terrace arranged on the existing platform. The roof profile of the corner building is reshaped so that both slopes match those of the neighbouring building, improving both the livability of the upper levels and the overall urban integration of the ensemble.
The bulk of the works consists of interior fit-out: the programme grows from two bedrooms and a cramped kitchen to three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two home offices, and living areas relocated above the ground-floor retail unit, benefiting from greater light and a more generous footprint. The rendered facades are refreshed with a light-toned plaster finish, giving the whole composition a renewed architectural coherence.
The project, designed by the architecture firm STARC, also addresses the energy performance of the building through the replacement of windows and the installation of appropriate insulation throughout the renovated volumes.
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