For a townhouse, the building plot in the center of Turnhout allowed for a voluminous building, with a width of 10 m, a height of 9 m, and a depth of 17 m for the ground floor and 15 m for the two upper floors. The building program was indeed substantial: basement and utility spaces, a double garage, a fully equipped doctor’s practice, and a complete residence with four bedrooms plus a guest room and a maid’s room. Moreover, Mrs. Leysen would have preferred to build outside the city and desired plenty of light, space, and greenery.
The architects succeeded in their objective by creating three and a half floors instead of three. This advantage is simultaneously a disadvantage: the intermediate floor for the doctor’s practice at level ½ creates a separation between the living room terrace at level 1½ and the garden, which is only accessible via a spiral staircase. At level 0, the garages are located at the front, with the guest room and playroom at the back, the latter being rarely used as such. Space in the garage was gained by lowering the ceiling by half a level at the rear – at the car’s front end. The cellars are located at level –½ beneath the doctor’s practice. A recess half a level high and 1 m deep brings light into the consultation room in the rear facade, while a 5 m deep recess ensures patients in the waiting rooms at the front facade have a view. Dr. Leysen was an ear, nose, and throat specialist who also treated patients with balance problems. Therefore, the architects made level ½ accessible for wheelchair users via a ramp.
From level 1½ upwards, we find a complete and even spacious residence across two floors. Victor Horta was known for bringing the abundant natural light he utilized in country houses for his wealthy clientele into townhouses by using light wells. Similarly, Jansen and Schiltz attempted to incorporate the shelter of patios from ‘spread-out villas’ into this house. In a preliminary design, they advised constructing a blind facade for the top two floors, with a 2.80 m wide open space behind it, onto which large windows would open. The final design does include a patio, but in a more logical location: near the children’s bedrooms. The patio has many advantages. Primarily, it allows the children’s rooms to receive plenty of light without compromising privacy. Furthermore, it serves as a completely private sun terrace. During warm weather, the children would sleep there in the open air. The patio also offers a view of the garden through the void of the sitting area.
The parents’ bedroom partially overhangs the terrace. The ribbon window continues around the corner and connects to the high window of the duplex. This creates a very spatial and open whole, reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s villas. To further enhance the transition between inside and outside, the partition wall with the neighbors was executed in white-painted brick both outside and inside the living room.
‘Architecture in the Golden Sixties – The Turnhout School, Lannoo Campus, 2012’.
