The Hereman house examines the tension between living together and being alone. Every level is designed as a small, independent apartment – a mini house, with its own atmosphere and a functional scheme. It invites the inhabitants to wander around, in search of an isolated or a common life. A large entry hall functions as a reception room for welcoming guests and as a distribution area, connecting all other parts of the house. From here the space opens up towards a generous living, defined by a series of arched passages, that divide the ground floor into more discrete sections.
Sunken half underground are the kitchen and the dining room. A large window allows for the light to penetrate deep into the house and gives a visual connection to a miniature landscape of the backyard garden. The shape of the plot splits the garden into two atmospheres: an open patio directly linked to the house and a more intimate locus amoenus, a garden room offering intimacy and comfort. On the first floor an extended hallway gives access to six rooms distributed on its perimeter, three of which are children’s bedrooms and three remain vacant.
The arrangement allows for playfulness and flexibility in the future arrangement of the space. The upper floor is designated as a night zone, with an en suite master bedroom, a main bathroom and an evening salon, a peaceful place offering the family members intimacy and privacy in the late hours of the day. Hovering over the city’s roofscape is a small atelier space, a place of an ultimate seclusion. Together with an attached terrace it enjoys the last sunrays and a panoramic view of Ghent.
