
The handle that could win the Compasso d'Oro
How can design speak of care? This handle goes beyond its primary function and rediscovers the symbolic value of design.
- Sponsored content

The flowing lines of the plan unfold across five split-levels. The entrance of the house, which is half a level lower than street level, is reached by way of a slope within a concrete framework in an artificial landscape. Although the programs blend into each other, natural light provides a unique atmosphere at every level: the continuous dispersion of light on the curved walls emphasizes the impalpable framework.
The sloping balustrade that consists of parabolic cables intensifies the interweaving of the different spaces. On the next level we find the kitchen, connected to the garden, and the slope towards the living room. An elongated cupola in the sloping ceiling / roof points the way to the highest zone, that of the children’s rooms. On this level, we also find the bathroom as a natural result of all preceding choices.
The space squeezes itself through the circulation space, accelerates temporarily (the stairs as connections between the levels), only to expand again, enhancing the dramatic effect. The visual language is characterized by emotion and lively agility.
The views that are wrenched away from the fixed grid are nonetheless clearly framed and pushed toward the back. This emphasizes the organic forms. The seemingly lifted volume causes a feeling of massive zero gravity. Life unfolds, turned away from the street and oriented towards the gardens. The artificial landscape that is created inside is well defined and flows back to the surrounding lawn.



OO-091_MQ_Plan_2_B1-L1_bw2

OO-091_MQ_Plan_3_L1-L2_bw2

OO-091_MQ_Plan_4_L2-L3_bw2

OO-091_MQ_Long Section_bw2
Villa MQ, Tremelo, Belgium
Program: sigle-family house
Architects: OOA | Office O architects
Architect in Charge: Magalie Munters
Structure: Util Structuurstudies
Area: 350 sqm
Completion: 2015

In Barcelona, a new tower made of colored glass
A project by GCA Architects uses AGC’s Planibel Coloured glass to to realize the Torre Colonial, a 21-story building that now becomes part of the city’s skyline.
- Sponsored content