2010 is going to be an interesting year.

This is the year we will need to prepare for 2011. The year in which we start building.
Now, when people ask when we start building, we can say.., “next year, we start building next year”.

So, what are the plans for 2010. I’ll sum them up to give an overview:

• Find an (Belgium) architect
• Submit for a building permit
• Sell the house in Rotterdam
• Move to Belgium
• Set up a temporary dwelling on our land
• Build a shed

Besides these actions we’ll need to learn (better) French, find suppliers, keep and find volunteers and keep working throughout everything to make money.

Wauw.., if you put it like that than 2010 is going to be a very interesting year indeed.

Architect

We need a native Belgium architect. One who speaks French as well as Dutch. This makes communication so much easier. It would help if he/she is from the south and had some dealings with our local government before.
Now, we did, or rather Laila and Lotte did speak to a potential and we hope that his price will be less enthusiastic as he was. As soon as we can agree on a price than we get cracking.
We need a somebody from Belgium because only Belgium architects can apply for building permits. Lotte would not be able to apply. A bonus is that a local architect can also help, a lot, with local contractors, and we’ll need all the help we can get with that.

Building Permit

In the talks L&L had with the architect he was very positive about the design (of course). He also suggested that it would not be a problem getting a permit on the design. Now, that is the design Lotte graduated on, it has slightly changed (see pictures).

Selling and Moving

These are a few issues that go together well. Selling the house, moving to Belgium, buying a (big) caravan and make Chenogne our home. This is also one of the most dramatic actions we will ever take in our lives and will definitely be the most dramatic move we’ll make this year.
Making a home in Chenogne will be tough, it has to be a temporary place, easily placed and maintained. But we’ll need (warm) water, electricity, something to cook on. All we have now is some grass, that’s it. A challenge to be met I’m sure.

Design

Last but not least. The house itself. Lotte has been creative again in providing solutions for our minor dilemmas.
Now, obviously all the ins and outs of the house will pass through this blog at some point, so I’ll leave you with just these images.

design and artist impression by Studio Middelkoop

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3th November 2009 was a day which might be considered the second milestone in the project that’s called “Four Elements House”.

Of course.., the first milestone was buying the land. But on 3th November  Lotte graduated as a Master of Sience from the Technical University of Delft, with a whopping 8,5. And she did it on the FEH design.

Below is a clip which illustrates the effort that went into creating the final presentation.

Building a model of a house takes effort.., and time. To have enough pictures for a presentation also.., you have to go.., uhhh.., one step beyond.

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As our architect continues her study, writes her thesis and builds the models, we get a first glimpse of how the house might end up. As we’re told upfront, this is, by far, not the final design. But this will illustrate the concept. Of course, during the coming months the design will be altered to our wishes, or to fit in certain necessities or by the judgement of the architect.

So, what do we have. Well, I’ll sure try and make some sense of it.

The idea is that every room, or space in the house has a function and contributes to the whole. Lotte has designed the concept in such a way that it not only follows purpose, but it also suits our personal needs.

What you see above is the front of the house, the street side. The right half houses a workshop, storage, bedrooms and at the back a studio/office.

In the middle is a kitchen and bathroom. This is good, it’ll keep the waterworks concentrated. The left side is a living area.
And the back (left side) is a winter garden (orangery) where we can keep our exotic plants and it also provides a buffer zone for retaining heat. The living room looks out over the orangery/greenhouse.

Split Level

The house has various levels and stairs are never higher than 1 meter. The studio, bedrooms and bathroom are low, then the living area, and the kitchen is the highest. We recon we spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen. It will be the heart of the house and it will have a view of the entire garden/land.
Also, the kitchen will open up onto a terrace, which is above the studio.

The orangery opens up onto a terrace on ground level, at the back of the house, from which we can go into the garden.

Now, we still have a lot to do, we’ll have to give the systems a place in the house and we need plenty of storage.
The design is not finished, but the concept is clear and we love it.

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