Bart and Sara bought a north-facing plot in a typical allotment in Bredene, a town on the belgian coast side. The constuction regulations restricted the building volume, and the facade had to be white, black or gray.

© Luc Roymans

Architects: Atelier Vens Vanbelle

Location: Lijsterstraat 4, 8450 Bredene, Belgium

Architect In Charge: Atelier Vens Vanbelle

Engineer: Util

Area: 175.0 sqm

Project Year: 2014

Photographs: Luc Roymans

© Luc Roymans

From the architect. Bart and Sara bought a north-facing plot in a typical allotment in Bredene, a town on the belgian coast side. The constuction regulations restricted the building volume, and the facade had to be white, black or gray.
© Luc Roymans

If they had built in the traditional way, they would now have a home with an open living space on the ground floor, and an adjacent terrace to the north. Upstairs we would have found the bedrooms. Around the plot they should have placed the traditional hedge or barrier to ensure their privacy, and they would have to build a garden shed to compensate the lack of storage.

© Luc Roymans

Their house puts this traditional subdivision literally upside down: to avoid a pile foundation, the foundation was conceived as a large concrete tank. The garage, large storage room and the...