Transitions

The first act begins just beyond Leuven’s ring road, where, enveloped by the hum of traffic, we find 'Ten Wijngaard': a stereotypical, Flemish residential neighborhood consisting of 50 single-family homes built in the 1970s. The houses face inward, disconnected from their surroundings despite having large front yards. Their flat, anonymous facades fail to acknowledge their environment. The private garages are tied together by a network of paved surfaces, prioritizing cars over people. The scarce, leftover public spaces are underused, their latent potential left unrecognized.

In the second act, we travel to residential neighborhoods in Japan, namely Tokyo and Osaka, for field research. We discover nature’s crucial role in vitalizing urban life, challenging the common notion of Japanese cities as concrete jungles. Instead, these cities show that nature establishes a human scale, fosters community, and enables people to create filters and transition spaces. 'Transitions' catalogs concrete spatial configurations as a toolbox for qualitative living in a hyperdense environment. The third act is to intervene, using this Japanese toolbox to restructure 'Ten Wijngaard'. The neighborhood comes to life with a new, modular workshop building spanning the entire length of ‘Ten Wijngaard’. The building redesigns mobility in the area and allows nature to be reintroduced at the heart of the neighborhood. Its position at the edge of the ring road not only strengthens the link to the city but also acts as a buffer against traffic noise. At the same time, the roofs of the homes are seen as a second level, contributing to the densification of the neighborhood. Vertical extensions on top of the houses offer additional, compact, and affordable housing opportunities or expansions to existing homes. Horizontal extensions create transition zones. Boundaries blur. The act of dwelling extends beyond the interior, while the living fabric maintains intimacy. 'Ten Wijngaard' becomes a layered ensemble in tangibility and perception. Countless small interventions are interconnected, reinforcing one another. The result is an eclectic collage of gestures. Their architecture embodies a necessity going beyond the act of design.