SPIES -
A renovation of a house for H. and M.
The recent restoration focused on safeguarding this modernist legacy while carefully reactivating the house for contemporary use. The intervention started from the existing architecture as a guiding framework, aiming to reinforce its spatial and material logic rather than overwrite it.
Both the front and rear façades were stripped back to their original condition and meticulously restored. The original colour palette was reintroduced, and the window joinery was replaced with steel profiles closely aligned with the historic detailing, including pronounced intermediate gutters and rounded window sills. These interventions restore the clarity and rhythm of the façades without introducing unnecessary formal additions.
Inside, the project sought to recover the original spatial organisation as conceived by Van Steenbergen and Wouters. Character-defining elements such as the cylindrical stairwell, spiral staircase, tiled floors, parquet, lacquered doors and mantelpiece were preserved or carefully restored. New interventions were introduced sparingly and always in dialogue with the existing fabric, reinforcing continuity rather than contrast.
Material choices are conceived as part of an ongoing architectural logic rather than as historical reconstruction. Contemporary materials are deployed with restraint and precision, in line with the modernist ethos of clarity, functionality and innovation. The project does not aim to return the house to a fixed moment in time, but to sustain its architectural relevance.
The result is a restrained restoration that allows the house to continue its architectural life, respecting its modernist origins while affirming their ongoing relevance.
Location
completion
client
program
architecture
interior architecture
photographs
completion
client
program
architecture
interior architecture
photographs
Antwerp(BE)
Ongoing
Private
Renovation of a modernist house
i.s.m.architecten
i.s.m.architecten
Luis Dìaz Dìaz
Ongoing
Private
Renovation of a modernist house
i.s.m.architecten
i.s.m.architecten
Luis Dìaz Dìaz