AJ. House

• Bruges
• Brugge

• Fotografie / Thomas De Bruyne

A protected farmhouse complex dating from 1661 was transformed into a contemporary family home by rethinking the original hierarchy of the site. Rather than inhabiting the historic house, the former barn, the most distinctive volume of the complex, becomes the new heart of the home.

Beneath its monumental thatched roof, an open living environment was created around the original oak framework. The historic structure became the starting point for the spatial organisation and material choices. A restrained palette of natural stone, timber and mineral tones responds to the weathered oak and the surrounding Flemish landscape.

Existing openings were preserved wherever possible, creating new sightlines through the house and towards the landscape. Different levels organise the living spaces while maintaining the full height and generous volume of the barn. At its centre, a freestanding staircase connects the different levels without interrupting the openness of the space or the visibility of the historic roof structure.

AJ. House does not seek to reconstruct the past, but proposes a contemporary way of inhabiting protected rural heritage, where architecture, interiors, art and landscape form a single whole.