Sans Souci is a project that tries to question conventional living in search of an affordable housing model that encourages social contact and pushes for a shift towards a shared economy. In 2018 two late-twenty-year old’s wanting to settle in Brussels found each other on Facebook and joined forces to buy a property together. A scheme was developed in which both residents will have the possibility of privacy with the added benefit of having several shared facilities. On the ground floor the annex kitchen makes space for a shared garden, which is linked to a multifunctional room. A one-bedroom triplex is arranged on the lower three floors and a two-bedroom duplex will occupy the upper two floors. A shared guest toilet is located perfectly in the middle. The basement has place for a communal laundry facility and a small workshop. Shared technical equipment is connected to all the rooms by using the main staircase as an open shaft, facilitating future alterations or a changed use. All of the interventions are fitted in the existing room-layout of the house with very little structural modifications making the renovation both cost efficient and reversible. This project has the ambition of being the first steppingstone towards a growing community by setting an example in how to rethink the built heritage.

This project is one of the winners of the be.exemplary competition of 2019.

Location: Brussels, BE | Program: Collective housing (2 units) | Year: 2018-2023 | Client: Private | Status: Under construction | Task: Full process (concept to delivery) | Budget: €250.000 | Size: 250m² | Structure: Orca Architecten en Ingenieurs | Climate: Tech3 | People: Matthias Salaets, Michaël Stas, Carmen Van Maercke | Execution: 3ALJ Construct (general contractor), Vernin (ventilation), Pangeae (metal works), Atelier Permanent (garden) | Photographs: Fallow