VIZIER - A newly built mixed-use building

Located in the centre of Edegem, this newly built mixed-use building replaces a deteriorated commercial property on a plot just over five metres wide. The project combines a ground-floor hospitality programme with two dwellings above, organised within a compact urban footprint.

The ground floor and basement accommodate a delicatessen and dining space. A recessed façade forms a sheltered entrance that connects the premises directly to the street while organising access to the apartments above.

Within the hospitality space, the design explores ways of creating spatial generosity within the constraints of the narrow footprint. The interior unfolds as a sequence of functions articulated through subtle shifts in level, materiality and colour.

At the rear, the dining area is covered by a roof composed of two sloping planes incorporating continuous strip windows, allowing daylight to penetrate deep into the interior. A sunken seating area introduces additional variation in the section. A folding glazed opening connects the space to the garden at the back of the plot, effectively bookending the terrace at the front façade.

Above the hospitality space, two dwellings are organised across a series of split levels that expand the spatial experience within the limited width of the building.

The façade is finished in vertically profiled timber cladding with a grey-green tone, subtly referencing the colour of the dome of the nearby Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes. The building positions itself as a restrained yet distinctive addition to the heterogeneous streetscape of the Hovestraat.

i.s.m.architecten

an architecture and interior architecture studio

ABOUT

i.s.m.architecten
(in samenwerking met architecten)

i.s.m.architecten (short for "in samenwerking met architecten," which translates to "in collaboration with architects") is a Belgian architecture and interior architecture office with a strong focus on spatial design and the design process. Since its inception in 2010, they have built up expertise through various projects, ranging from furniture pieces over opera scenographies to interior and exterior architecture

Each project starts with an open perspective. The creation process and its accompanying production lead to a focus which is then tweaked and refined. In this way, each undertaking becomes a means to evolve the design language, create new forms, or refine existing ones, pushing the practice towards new horizons leaning on a solid collaborative relationship with its clients.

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