House SSK / De Baes Associates + Van Besien Van Noten Architecten

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Text description provided by the architects. House SSK confronts the old urban fabric with the desire for a larger whole. The house disengages from its context but is at the same time imprisoned within it. It provides a response to the recurrent and very direct issues that crop up when designing contemporary urban dwellings, such as the dilemma of new-build versus renovation, affordability, sustainability, and comfort. The plot, in an old working-class area in the center of Kortrijk, prompted reflection on the intrinsic value of this urban fabric. Did it call for renovation or intensification, or would tabula rasa be a better strategy?