— Project intent
A precise answer to the site and programme.
The renovation of this detached house in Sombreffe, on the outskirts of Namur province, demonstrates an architectural approach rooted in continuity and careful integration with the existing built fabric. The compact volume beneath a natural slate double-pitched roof, articulated with an integrated garage facing the street, sits within a residential neighbourhood where brown-red brick constitutes the shared material language. The architecture firm STARC led this project by placing envelope coherence above any ambition for formal contrast.
The intervention pursues two complementary aims: improving the thermal performance of the building envelope through roof insulation, and upgrading the bathroom by means of a measured modification to the roof profile. This discreet volumetric adjustment, barely perceptible from the street, optimises ceiling height and zenithal natural light, noticeably enhancing interior comfort without undermining the building's unified reading or its relationship with neighbouring structures.
Materials remain unchanged throughout: the natural slate retains its rhythm and overall silhouet, while the brick facade sustains its dialogue with the immediate surroundings. This deliberate material restraint reflects an architectural practice in which landscape integration and contextual coherence are the primary design criteria, in Wallonia as a whole and in Namur province in particular.
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