Meersen House

Meersen House is a thorough energetic renovation of a two-storey row-house in Meersenstraat, Assebroek, within a typical Bruges residential block developed between the 1960s and 1990s.

Rather than altering the urban fabric, the project reinterprets the familiar row-house typology as a contemporary family home. The existing massing and rhythm of the street are maintained, while the interior is reorganised and the building envelope significantly upgraded.

The architectural ambition is to combine spatial clarity with a circular and bio-based material strategy, allowing the house to meet contemporary standards of comfort, energy performance and adaptability.

The ground floor is reorganised to improve both functionality and openness. The former service corridor becomes a compact sequence of bicycle storage, vestibule, sanitary facilities and technical storage, allowing the living space to expand towards a new rear extension.

This extension introduces a simple rectilinear volume between the party walls, fully glazed towards the garden. The kitchen becomes the central living space of the house, where integrated seating elements mediate between interior and exterior.

On the first floor, the bathroom is reorganised around a central technical shaft, improving efficiency and simplifying the distribution of services. The attic level is transformed into a fully usable second floor with additional bedrooms and storage, following the replacement and insulation of the pitched roof while retaining the original structural trusses.

The renovation focuses on a comprehensive energetic upgrade of the building envelope. All façades are insulated externally and unified through vertical timber cladding, giving the house a coherent contemporary identity while respecting the scale of the street.

The front façade is thickened to accommodate the new insulation layer, while lowered eaves introduce protective overhangs. The roof is finished with red profiled metal sheeting, referencing traditional timber–metal material combinations while ensuring durability and low maintenance.

The compact rear extension aligns with neighbouring roof heights and plot boundaries, maintaining continuity within the urban block.

The rear extension opens generously towards the garden, allowing daylight and vegetation to become integral parts of daily life. A timber garden structure continues the material language outdoors and supports gradual transitions between house and garden.

By maintaining the original massing and respecting the street profile, the project integrates quietly within the existing neighbourhood, subtly improving architectural quality without disrupting its context.