Minimalist conversion of an apartment by DIALECT in Antwerp

It all started with the fact that the first booked architect could not solve his task to the satisfaction of the client. So Pierric De Coster and Jonas Blondeel of the DIALECT studio were commissioned to design an apartment in Antwerp, and in particular to fundamentally rework the bedroom with en-suite bathroom. The result is a thoroughly sophisticated blend of cool and comfort.

by Barbara Hallmann, 07/15/2020

Antwerp is without question an epicenter on the map of European design. This means that anyone who designs here faces particularly high expectations. And to create the extraordinary here also requires extraordinary courage. This bar is raised even higher when the client was already so unhappy with another designer that he gave him the boot. That's the situation Pierric De Coster and Jonas Blondeel found themselves in when they were entrusted with the remodeling of a recently purchased apartment on the second floor of an Antwerp apartment building. The client was particularly unhappy with the bedroom with en-suite bathroom.

Highway romance in the bedroom
DIALECT's new design impresses and disturbs in equal measure with breaks and inversions. For example, the entire bedroom is carpeted - even around the vanity and bathtub. The latter is clad in polished stainless steel with a Super Mirror 8 finish, and the outer form is sharp-edged. The vanity unit of the washbasin was crafted in the same design language but with a matte finish. Overall, the bathroom furnishings are more reminiscent of a freeway toilet or even a slaughterhouse than a wellness oasis. The white wall tiles, which reach up to the ceiling, also contribute to this. The cool atmosphere is further enhanced by the high-gloss, mint-green ceiling color. In the generously sized shower, located to the right of the vanity in a kind of séparée, the walls have been coated with epoxy resin in a mint-green hue. Behind the vanity is a walk-in closet. Coming from the living area, one first crosses this dressing room before entering the bedroom through the bathroom. The harsh contrast between the bedroom and bathroom areas is softened by white curtains if needed.

Quotes with a twist
The architects mainly refurnished the rest of the open-plan apartment, having to deal with the shell of their predecessor. So they added a long terrazzo slab to a wall already designed with green and black tiles, into which the sink and stove were recessed and which now serves as a very minimalist version of a kitchen. The necessary storage space is hidden in three windowless cubbyholes located behind the countertop. The actual working kitchen, housed in a niche to the right of the show cooking area, is finished in black MDF. In general, De Coster and Blondeel show themselves to be masters of hiding functions here: Everything that is not part of the minimalist concept is simply placed behind doors and walls. In this way, the carefully selected pieces of furniture appear almost as if they were in a catalog. The best example of this is the round daybed by the young Antwerp designer Jonas Van Put, which serves as a comfortable seat for the media area and is staged here on a velvety white carpet. The TV corner, thus made recognizable as a special area, is separated from the rest of the living room by a curtain by Belgian textile designer Nathalie Van der Massen. The ceiling here is covered with black mirror glass. A fireplace found a place in the central space, its surround - a stepped profile - cites the charm of old apartments and abruptly breaks this quote with a vertical line and a minimalist ornamentless right side.

The apartment also includes a children's room, which has a semicircular wooden partition, a quote from the house Van Wassenhove by Juliaan Lampens - a Belgian icon of architecture brut. This reference can also be taken as a hint - after all, De Coster and Blondeel were given a free hand here just as the architect Juliaan Lampens was given a free hand by his client at the time. Especially against the background of the failed collaboration with the first architect, this can truly be understood as a great gesture.

The 11 Best Houseplants For Small Spaces