Mr. Plompen, who was a central heating installer, owned a plot bounded by roads on three sides, which already appeared on the Ferraris map of 1777. Two undeveloped plots were situated along the northern side. This side was the logical location for the driveway with carport. A wall with a height of 2.10 m provides screening from the neighbors. On the south side, there is a similar L-shaped wall, defining the seating area and patio. These walls determine the shape of the highest roof, a rectangle, but do not support it. That task falls to eight H-shaped steel columns. The lower building block, positioned perpendicular to this, is supported by two walls 2.75 m high, which are interrupted at the location of the high building block. The east and west walls of the lower block are made of glass, extending up to the roof edge. All remaining parts of the main block are also made of glass, reaching up to the high roof all around. That’s all. The interior walls, which are non-load-bearing, are in principle movable. The bottom two meters of two walls of the office are actually in wood, with the top meter in glass. All windows and roof structure are constructed in wood.
The functions have been very carefully arranged within. At the intersection of the two blocks, we find in the four corners respectively: the hall, the office, the library, and the dining area. The latter two are situated in the same space as the seating area, which has two glazed walls. The fourth wall is the 2-meter-high wall that extends to screen the patio. The east side of the lower block contains the kitchen and storage area, and its west side houses the bedrooms and their amenities.
Though forgotten, tucked away and damaged by extensions, this is nevertheless one of the gems of the Jansen and Schiltz office.
‘Architecture in the Golden Sixties – The Turnhout School, Lannoo Campus, 2012’.
