336BED
Program
Individual housing, Small scale intervention
Location
Gembloux
Date
2019 - 2020
Themes
Rural, Renovation, Circular, Biobased
Phase
Completed
Surfaces
288 m²
Team
AAIA, Pierre Cloquette
Client
Privé
Budget
€ 280 000
Renovation of a country house
This modest country house was built in the seventies. Since its construction, it has not been altered in any way.
The renovation project aims to adapt the house into a single-family home, reducing the environmental impact and energy requirements, on the one hand by preserving the existing structure and on the other hand by re-insulating it with local and bio-sourced materials.
Inside, the original layout is maintained. Only a few partitions are demolished to create more spacious rooms.
Two extensions are added to the original design to enlarge the living room and the kitchen. Both the extensions and the new building envelope – made necessary by the desire to ensure optimal insulation – take the form of a uniform wooden structure, made of local larch and insulated with blown cellulose wadding.
The joinery and opaque parts made of wood fibre and cement panels are inserted between the structure.
The structure and its regular rhythm make it possible to integrate variations of the original house as well as those of new parts (bays, solid parts, recessed parts, extension, terrace).
This new structure extends into a pergola, which will become – over time – a support for plants that promote biodiversity and bring freshness in summer. On this structure, the roof sits like a hat covered with natural slate. Its slopes are modified to make the first floor more habitable.
Each construction element clarifies the interventions and forges a new bond with the immediate environment.
While giving the house a more contemporary character, the project enhances the original qualities of the building.
