For this extension, Studio Kloek came up with spacious solutions, despite the clients wishes to place the new kitchen out of sight. The architect aimed for openness and clarity in the rather narrow terraced house.

The kitchen is placed centrally in the house, with the dining room on the garden side and the lounge in the existing house on the streetside.

From the sitting area you can see the dining area, but there is no insight into the kitchen. A generous skylight - the 'lichthapper' - brings the sun into the heart of the home. With the morning sun gently peaking in, breakfast at the kitchen counter kickstarts the day. Sitting at the dining-table, the gaze is lead upon the garden through the big minimal windows really opening up the view, rather than on the subtile hid kitchen. An artistic concrete element prevents insight into the - possibly upside down - kitchen.This on-site poured concrete element is not just for appearances, but carries the existing bathroom on the first floor. The wall that encloses the toilet is also made of on-site poured concrete and takes shape as a robust interior element. A glass ceiling provides daylight into this smallest room, so that reading the newspaper 'comfortably' becomes a true experience.

The window profiles are given a warm gold tone, which is also reflected in the enamel backsplash and in the lacquered steel beams. Characterful dark wenge wood outbalances the sleek white of the kitchen. Above the dining table, the wooden formwork of the concrete roof gives texture and tactility to the ceiling.The dark green concrete floor fits in nicely with the old brown-red masonry wall. The rough wall is, as it were, a patchwork of different construction phases and tells the authentic story of the house, without anything being hidden away. The 'scars' of ingrained electricity are pushed to the foreground, with black light fixtures, brass switches and bakelite sockets as eclectic pearls on the ends of a necklace.

Team:
Architects: Studio Kloek
Photographer: Hannelore Veelaert