The residents of a pharmacy located on Beringersteenweg in Zonhoven wish to build a new home for retirement. They envision a spacious, light-filled, and elegant house, with additional features such as a home office and a veranda. An elevator is a must, ensuring the house remains accessible as they age. The entire home should preferably be built using steel construction, enabling rapid assembly. The new residence will be located on a plot of land directly behind their current house.

The plot is irregular in shape—narrow, elongated, and wedge-like. It borders a parallel road, Keurstraat, which creates significant overlooking issues. Keurstraat, lined with tall oak trees, leads to a bare, newly developed residential area. In contrast, the site—framed by its tall trees—forms a green oasis amidst the surrounding new builds, creating a sense of shelter and seclusion. In time, this green buffer will serve as a natural privacy screen for the new house.

The new home is positioned at the corner of the site to take full advantage of the allowed building depth. The main volume and entrance face Keurstraat, allowing the home to be fully oriented toward the garden. The placement respects local zoning rules, with a 5-meter front setback from Keurstraat and 7 meters from Dokterstraat.

The ground floor plan is laid out in the shape of a Greek cross, inspired by a Palladian villa. It forms one large open space, with the living room at its center, and at the four ends: the entrance hall, a formal sitting room (“goei kamer”), the home office, and the dining room. The corners house the annexes, including the garage, utility rooms, office, and veranda. Fixed furniture elements—such as the cloakroom, gas fireplace, staircase, and elevator—help define the various living zones and add architectural scale. This layout ensures maximum privacy for the central living space and a compact circulation system, eliminating the need for corridors.

The upper floor, which contains the sleeping quarters, is accessed from the landing. A double-height space (void) around the staircase reflects the wedge shape of the plot and allows the late afternoon sun to penetrate deep into the living areas.

The building consists of two parts:

A main volume with an upper floor, built using a steel skeleton. All interior walls are non-load-bearing, offering great long-term flexibility—allowing rooms to be reorganized, expanded, or downsized as needed. The external shell is non-structural, made of high-performance thermal panels, both opaque and transparent, to ensure a comfortable indoor climate.
A wedge-shaped front volume, inserted between the street and the main structure, acts as a privacy filter. This volume includes a garage, entrance hall, and veranda, creating a buffer zone with a transitional microclimate. Placing private living spaces away from this street-facing area helps mitigate privacy concerns. The garage, in particular, blocks direct views into the living areas from the street.