The Rustenhove site is part of the Ypres garden district of Torrepoort. This neighborhood has a coherent appearance with lots of public and private greenery, wide streets and compact buildings. The social housing company Ons Onderdak wishes to qualitatively densify the site by replacing 7 houses with 12 apartments for elderly people.

Rather than introducing a different formal language, we embroider on the existing fabric by manipulating and dividing horizontally the existing archetype of semi-open and contiguous dwellings. We thus create a mild collective living form that on the one hand seeks its equal, but on the other goes a step further.

To maximize use of the site, we seek the boundaries of the plot whenever possible. The new building follows the contour of the plot and leaves room for a collective and green courtyard with an open layout. As an active meeting and experience place, it guides the transition from public to private and helps prevent social exclusion. As a passive spectacle and green lung, it gives the whole a specific individuality close to the prevailing garden district image.

By not building on the corners, all homes will have three facades, creating a subtle balance between the security of the court and the interaction with the neighborhood.