The Flemish village of Outgaarden is synonymous with a wide spread development of rural infrastructures. The traditional farms are gradually and irreversibly appropriated by wealthy newcomers, rendering the agricultural facilities into courtyard villas, surrounded by unadapted ‘authentic’ space.
 
We proposed to rearrange the desired programs, so that each programmatic shift would engender new relationships. The pool, by the client initially imagined in the backyard, is placed in the middle of the courtyard. The point of departure for the construction was to upgrade the standard ‘swimming pool package deal’. This action coincided with the client’s ambivalent wish that the ‘pool’ could be a swimming pool as well as a pond. The unusual location of the pool confronts the public realm of entering the farmhouse with the ‘nude’ privacy of swimming.
 
The kitchen is moved to the periphery of the farm, in order to optimize deliveries and access to storage spaces. Everything in the design underscores the contrast between the kitchen and the storage space. The kitchen is inserted into the existing structure like a precious jewel box. In between kitchen and storage an exclusive Carrara Bianca sliding wall is inserted. The wall is made of 5 mm marble, mounted on a 20 mm thick honeycomb structure and finished with a slick polyester skin. Depending on the incidence of light the wall acts as a translucent window. The status of the kitchen is variable, the space acts simultaneously as a ‘showroom’, an astonishing utilitarian space or a challenging multifunctional tool.

• Location

  Outgaarden, Belgium

• Client

  Private

• Completion

  1998 – 2001

• 51N4E project team

  Johan Anrys, Freek Persyn, Peter Swinnen

• Construction cost

  Swimmingpool/bath house : 27.500 €
  Kitchen : 39.700 €

• Programme

  Outdoor swimmingpool, bath house, garden, kitchen

• Built surface

  200 m²

• Photography

  Geert Goiris

• Image credits

  51N4E