Extension to Semi-Detached House in Heverlee, Belgium

For the cubic extension to this semi-detached house, with its red-brick street facade and white bay window, the architects adopted the white coloration and the principle of modular outer walls. A view is created from the kitchen to the entrance ramp and the street beyond. The clear layout and the reflections in the storey-height glazing lend the extension a surprising sense of spaciousness and complexity. On the garden face, the ground floor is transparently glazed across its full width. Glass-block clerestory lights to the partially double-height spaces allow soft daylight to penetrate the existing building. The consistent use of colours and materials means that an earlier extension is scarcely distinguishable.