schmitz built

three buildings, on a long plot in a dense urban fabric. a residential project, a commercial project, a communal project, for two parties.

a long plot, with two means of entry, a street entrance and a garage, that has access to another street through an inner courtyard.

the original building is from the end of the 19th century, but over the years the structure was changed beyond recognition. last used as a car garage, with living space on the upper floors in the front and storage space in the back, but left unused for several years. the ground is polluted and needs remediation.

the existing condition was is a bricolage of various materials layered on top of each other, deteriorating over time. the decay of the structure gives new ideas for the rehabilitation. the processes of transformation should become legible. this was the starting point, use what is there, change only what is necessary.

the profiles of the houses are reused and repurposed, the space between the two houses is cleared and landscaped to create common courtyards. the front building is for living, the rear buildings for working. all the spaces are organized according to the same principle: the private spaces are smaller, the common spaces larger.

the entire ground floor is continuous (formerly the garage), in which separate shared volumes are placed, for a guest apartment, a studio and a workshop. the common passageway is accessible along the entire length of the property from the front to the back.

access to the upper areas is via the exterior staircases and terraces adding a second outdoor level. the scaffold structure both extends and defines the shared space, it negotiates between the two parties and the architecture.