Paul Neefs was already an established architect and still single when he bought a plot of land between the centers of Oosthoven and Oud-Turnhout to build a house for himself. On the building permit application of July 1964, we see a single-story residence with a dodecagonal floor plan and a rectangular two-story block, which was most likely intended for the garage on the ground floor and the office above. To ensure a good view over the fields, the house stands on a rectangular elevation of 50 cm, finished with a 45° slope, as he had also done with the Kerstensresidence in Geel. Both the exterior and interior walls were to be constructed entirely in brick. The whole structure is not parallel to the plot boundaries but is oriented precisely north-south.
When the contractor began excavation, he noticed that solid ground was only reached at a depth of 1.30 m. Paul Neefs realized that this meant his foundation walls would be almost the height of a story. Since he was due to travel a few days later, he had to make a quick decision. After consulting his colleague and friend Lou Jansen, he kept the plan but reversed the cross-section: instead of an elevation, there would be an excavation. The living floor of the house remained approximately in its place, but below it came a new layer with the functions that were previously in the separate rectangle, supplemented with additional storage spaces and a laundry room. The rectangular terrace around this layer lies 1.25 m below ground level and transitions into the garden with a 45° slope. Because he gained extra spaces in the lower layer, Neefs reduced the side of the outer dodecagon from 4 m to 3.50 m. The floor height of the piano nobile is 2.50 m. Note Neefs’spreference for simple numbers. In the facade composition, the top of the lower windows aligns with the bottom of the upper windows. To achieve this, pedestals were placed in the built-in cabinets on the outside of the dodecagon, though these are hidden behind sliding doors. Another consequence is that the convector pits, which were originally meant to be in the ground, are now visible in the lower layer. From the north side, the living area can be reached via a gentle slope, with the hall to the east and the dining area to the west. Between these lies the driveway to the garage in the lower layer. Four concrete retaining walls define these slopes.
The ingenuity of the upper floor plan lies in the combination of formal strength with functionality. Neefs started from a dodecagon where half of the sides consist of large glass surfaces. These guarantee permanent sunlight and a panoramic view over the fields. The other half consists of built-in cabinets, the only storage in the house. Because these are placed on the outside of the dodecagon, the interior spaces remain pure. The dodecagon shows four zones. From outside to inside these are: built-in cabinets alternating with terraces, the living functions, the hexagonal circulation, and a hexagonal core with wet rooms, staircase, and fireplace. The basic unit is a 30° wedge. It contains half of a built-in cabinet and half of a large window. It appears in the hall, kitchen, and two rooms. Two larger rooms consist of two units. The living space is four units large. It faces outward with one full window and two half windows, but also inward, toward the strongly present fireplace that marks the hexagon. Because a basic unit contains all necessary elements, the layout is simple and interchangeable: an office can easily become a bedroom. The construction is also very simple: three load-bearing walls from the center outward and the 24 side surfaces of the built-in cabinets in reinforced concrete. Access to the house and to the terraces was not solved with hinged or sliding doors, but with pivoting windows. Paul Neefs could enjoy the effect of sunlight at different positions of these rotating glass surfaces. Among his sparse notes is an appropriate quote phrase by Mies van der Rohe: ‘The most important thing about using glass is not the effects of light and shadow, but of the rich play of reflection.‘
‘Architecture in the Golden Sixties – The Turnhout School, Lannoo Campus, 2012’.
