The Hendrickx residence is located along the same section of the ring road as Carli Vanhout’s house. The children used to play at each other’s homes. The terrain slopes slightly downward, and the garden faces south. The architects were given complete freedom to design a spacious doctor’s residence. The garages and kitchen in the left side wall, and the dining and living areas in the rear façade, are situated at level 0, at garden height. In the southwest corner, the fireplace area connects at level –½. Above this, at level ½, lies the office connected to the doctor’s practice in the right side wall. Patients first reach an elevated and walled grass area via a few steps, then the canopy at the entrance. The family entrance is under the same canopy but to the left. They enter a spacious hall with four staircases where the four levels converge. The toilet is centrally located in the hall at level 0, with a planter above it. The stairwell receives natural light in various ways: through a regular window to the lowest roof, through a quarter-cylindrical window on the middle roof, and through a semi-cylindrical window on the highest roof. Above the garage and kitchen are: the guest room, with a terrace in the front facade, and the master bedroom, with a terrace in the rear facade. At level 1½, in the rear facade, are the children’s bedrooms. The living area below thus achieves a height of one and a half storeys and is protected from the warm southern sun by the overhang.
By working with half-levels and staying within the rectangular plan, the architects have created a powerful and interesting building volume. The connection between the dining and living areas is rather anecdotal: a fully glazed corridor with ponds on both sides. To give this doctor’s residence more character, semi-circular and quarter-circular forms were added as new elements in the interior. We’ve already encountered them in the domes. We also find them in the brick and steel railings and in the handles and light fixtures of the cabinet in the living area. The sloping section between the living room floor and the fireplace area was laid with cobblestones.
