Children's House
School: Université catholique de Louvain
Year: 2016
Course: Design studio
Team: Individual work
Instructor: Benoit Cruysmans
Can multiple families live (happily) under one roof? If yes, then how? Remembering myself as a child, I have always been looking for company to play with. And if I was busy socializing with friends, my parents could finally share a moment alone.
This house is ideal for two families with children. It acts as two apartments on the ground floor level with separate entrances leading to each unit. On the second floor, the two units merge into one long volume made up of children’s bedrooms with a giant open playroom situated in the middle. Parents can enjoy privacy in their respective apartments or spend time together in a shared courtyard, while children play upstairs.
The site is located in the Belgian city Braine-l’Alleud, 20 km south of Brussels. The lot is situated directly across from a parish and is surrounded by local businesses and residential houses. Children’s House frames a friendly pedestrian street, which leads to a public playground nesting underneath the cantilevered volume.
