The stately townhouse has a highly strategic location, with its proximity to the city park, the commercial heart of Diksmuide, and the train station. These urban functions connect in many ways with the newly proposed residential function, where innovative ways of (co-)living go hand in hand with alternative forms of mobility, leisure activities and work.

The townhouse is given a suitable and progressive repurposing as a cohousing project. The generously designed front façade, constructed with Bruges travees, is reflected inside through a characteristic spatial logic, where rooms are arranged around a large central hall. The rear facade, in turn, is much less valuable and is in a poor building condition. Behind it are rooms that are much less deep and feel oppressive. We see this condition as an opportunity and design a widened rear facade (diagram 1) which gives new impetus to the community garden, rebalances the plan figure (diagram 2) and forms a high-performance façade. We enlarge the existing void in the centre of the townhouse, enhancing its role as the heart and circulation point while also providing all units with more light and air through the roof terrace (see diagram 3). The void thus literally becomes an organizing and connecting space. The staircase extends from the void (see diagram 4) and culminates at the top in a more intimate, southwest-facing roof terrace, which balances the communal garden on the ground floor. At the ends of the central bay, we allocate the service and functional spaces of all residential units (see diagram 5). To respond to the ever-changing family compositions, the housing offer is diversified (see diagram 6): lodging units, studios, and apartments. We minimize interventions on the ground floor of the house. This is where the collective rooms and facilities find their place.