Felippi Wyssen Architekten

Description

The three-storey apartment house is set at the edge of a neighbourhood of single-family homes, on a plot that is slightly below the level of the surrounding terrain. The design responds to this difference in levels with a cleverly conceived semi-basement topped by a full storey and an attic. The emblematic look of the south façade and the finely proportioned pitched roof projecting on all sides lend the house an archaic touch. It seems to be presented on a pedestal. Parking spaces are provided in the eastern half of the semi-basement while the western half accommodates an apartment that extends the whole length of the building. The two upper floors each hold two apartments with windows on three sides. On the longitudinal sides of the house, the structure of the various horizontal layers can be read: the partly hidden base, the first floor with its generous openings and the elegantly articulated attic storey. Minimally protruding profiles and small sculptural interventions accentuate the façades, while the wood of the window frames and sliding shutters forms a warm counterpart to the exposed concrete walls.