Atelier Vens Vanbelle has created a contemporary home behind the preserved facade of a former school in Ghent, featuring arched spaces that extend between the original windows and a new living room.

The building was originally constructed in 1908, but only the facade remained by the time its current owners asked the studio headed by Dries Vens and Maarten Vanbelle to create a home on the disused site.
Three previous owners had failed to find an appropriate use for the plot situated behind the heritage listed facade, which had to be preserved in its original state.

A key consideration was how to integrate the large arched windows facing onto the street into the design for a new-build private residence.
The windows are also raised above the street level, and the studio decided to enhance the connection between the interior and its surroundings by creating tube-like spaces aligned with these glazed surfaces.
"Contact with the street is very important, so it was decided to extrude the windows into spaces," the architects explained. "Everything is designed in relationship with the dimensions of the windows, and the gap between the windows."
The first of the openings forms the main entrance from the street. The second extruded space contains a kitchen, and the area culminating in the final window accommodates an office.

The deep walls between the carved spaces incorporate key functional features, such as appliances, worktops and storage in the kitchen, and...