In the historic heart of Brussels, near the Grand-Place, commercial ground floorshave gradually displaced residents from upper floors, leaving upper levels empty once shops close. This project reclaims residential use within a building dominated by commerce, without compromising the facade or the quality of the commercial space below.
The design centers on the complete transformation of the storefront. Three fixed glazed elements — a display window, acommercial entrance, and a residential entrance —evoke the layering of a Japanese curtain through a subtle offset of planes and a nuanced arrangement of vertical frames: wider on the commercial side for visual openness, narrower on the residential side for privacy. Inside, a glazed partition between the commercial area and the residential corridor extends the perception of a unified display window from the street. This attention tolightness and visual continuity allows the contemporary intervention to integrate seamlessly into a protected heritage environment, subject to strict rules on composition, materials, and execution.
