'This space is meant to put you in a different dimension while you are working,' says architect Giuseppe Farris, and considering this home office appears elegantly pixelated, the phrase 'different dimension' seems apt. Antwerp-based Studio Farris was tapped to convert a century-old West Flanders stable into an office on a residential property dating to 1915, and the result could not appear more modern.
As minimally sculptural as this workspace looks, however, it contains a full panoply of office amenities: a meeting room, library, reading area and desks composed according to a multi-level box-inside-a-box' concept that clearly took some out-of-the-box thinking to achieve.
To start with, the architects got rid of several small rooms that both partitioned and darkened the stable’s two floors and then demolished the first floor, itself, for good measure. By emptying the volume this way, they filled the concrete space with light, air and generous sightlines. Into this gallery-like container, they then inserted a stepped object made of thick oak beams connected via steel profiles.
Some of the beams were hollowed out to accommodate cabinetry and shelving, but others are solid and load bearing, and came together to form a staircase complete with a mezzanine. This multipurpose, 'autonomous furniture piece' stacks irregularly as it rises to the ceiling, generating a surprising amount of texture and variety in the diminutive space, depending on where one stands.
This shape and orientation, however, are pragmatic and serve its many functions: to fit a table and chairs beneath the mezzanine, map out a comfortable circulation around the room, or create a visual connection to the adjacent garden.
The practical placement of several north-facing skylights and a series of smaller openings that perforate the facade frame glimpses of the surrounding landscape, brighten the volume and keep the temperature – in this wholly different dimension – just right.
The place may appear small, but it contains a wealth of office amenities, such as a meeting room, library, reading area and desks
This is achieved thanks to a clever stepped object within, made of thick oak beams connected via steel profiles, which hosts many different uses
The architects also completely opened up the interior, removing partition walls and the first floor to make space for their centrepiece and create the desired minimalist interior feel
INFORMATION
For more information visit the Studio Farris website
Photography: Koen Van Damme
-
From Cubism to Pop, artists’ jewellery goes on show in Palm Beach‘Artists’ Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop, the Diane Venet Collection’ at the Norton Museum of Art showcases key pieces from an impressive collection
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Waldorf Astoria Osaka‘It’s rare to work on a brand new hotel of this scale in Japan in today’s landscape,’ says designer Andre Fu about Osaka’s newest luxury hotel. Wallpaper* paid it an early visit
-
Ten playful bag charms to adorn your accessoriesReinvigorate past handbags or add an injection of personality with these Wallpaper*-approved bag charms, from a menagerie of animals to enormous sequins, chains and tassels
-
‘Close to solitude, but with a neighbour’: Furu’s cabins in the woods are a tranquil escapeTaking its name from the Swedish word for ‘pine tree’, creative project management studio Furu is growing against the grain
-
Tour Marche Arboretum, a new 'museum' of plants in BelgiumMarche Arboretum is a joyful new green space in Belgium, dedicated to nature and science – and a Wallpaper* Design Award 2025 winner
-
Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025: celebrating architectural projects that restore, rebalance and renewAs we welcome 2025, the Wallpaper* Architecture Awards look back, and to the future, on how our attitudes change; and celebrate how nature, wellbeing and sustainability take centre stage
-
Step through Rubenshuis’ new architectural gateway to the world of the Flemish painterArchitects Robbrecht en Daem’s new building at Rubenshuis, Antwerp, frames Rubens’ private universe, weaving a modern library and offices into the master’s historic axis of art and nature
-
Green Ark, a new garden pavilion from modified softwood, is conceived for plant conservationThe Green Ark, set in the heart of Belgium's Meise Botanic Garden, is an ultra-sustainable visitor pavilion by NU Architectuur Atelier
-
Residence Norah is a modernist Belgian villa transformed to its owner’s needsResidence Norah by Glenn Sestig in Belgium’s Deurle transforms an existing gallery space into a flexible private meeting area that perfectly responds to its owner’s requirements
-
Bruges Triennial 2024 takes over the city with contemporary art and architectureBruges Triennial 2024, themed 'Spaces of Possibility', considers sustainability and liveability within cities, looking towards a greener future
-
‘Interior sculptor’ Christophe Gevers’ oeuvre is celebrated in new book‘Christophe Gevers’ is a sleek monograph dedicated to the Belgian's life work as an interior architect, designer, sculptor and inventor, with unseen photography by Jean-Pierre Gabriel
