Architects: LAVA Architecten, Architect Bruno Stevens
Year: 2019
Photography: Tim Van de Velde
Steel: Stiel Atelier
Furniture: Woti
City: Sterrebeek
Country: Belgium
Aanbouw Atelier, a slate-covered ceramics studio designed by architect Bruno Stevens with LAVA Architecten, is a carefully crafted addition to a hillside home in Sterrebeek, Belgium. Designed for Stevens’ mother, a ceramicist, the studio is sunken into the sloping landscape, allowing it to blend seamlessly with its surroundings. The structure includes a private workshop and a studio space featuring a slate facade with contrasting black steel accents and wood interiors, providing a harmonious mix of natural materials. Expansive windows enhance natural lighting, while custom-built furniture like moveable desks and drying racks enable flexible use, tailored to both artistic work and workshop needs.
This addition to the original brick residence serves as both a creative workspace and a workshop venue, positioned to align with the main structure while integrating into the natural slope. Sliding doors connect the studio’s top floor directly to the garden, creating a continuous indoor-outdoor experience that complements the residence’s setting.
The two-storey structure’s lower level is a spacious workshop for classes, while the upper level includes a private studio and reception area. Stevens described how the pavilion slides into the natural slope, adding that the deepened courtyard anchors the structure into the ground, inviting movement along the structure’s facades.
Across the concrete volume’s front, a black steel walkway and staircase intersect, with the grey slate exterior and slanted timber roof forming a visible profile. Small windows along the ramp angle are framed with green anodised aluminum, while larger windows framed in the same material light the upper floor.
Inside, concrete floors and wood ceiling slabs distinguish the workshop space, which is equipped with custom-designed wood furniture, including mobile desks and shelving with leather pulls that double as drying racks.
A white tiled sink with a wood vanity provides utility for cleaning brushes and tools, while a black steel spiral staircase links the levels.
The upper level features hardwood flooring contrasted with white walls and light wood forming the ceiling’s truss structure and cabinetry. Light-colored plywood constructs a long table and geometric stools, while sliding doors open the bright space to the backyard and garden, connecting it seamlessly with the outdoors.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: Sterrebeek, Zaventern, Belgium
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
