Petillon Ceuppens . 31/44

Infrastructure of the Domestic . Rotselaar Petillon Ceuppens architecten . 31/44 architects . photos: © Franziska Krieck The project challenges the conventional boundaries between construction and domestic architecture. By repurposing off-the-shelf, pre-cast concrete L and U elements, typically reserved for the agricultural and infrastructural sectors, the house is conceived not as a permanent monument, but as a precise assembly of industrial components. The design logic is dictated by the selection of these standardized elements. Rather than casting concrete on-site, the project utilizes the 'ready-made' efficiency of the industrial sector. This approach allowed the primary structure to be positioned on-site within a single day. The heavy, mineral nature of the concrete is subverted by its method of installation; the house is slightly elevated and maintains a minimal, cross-shaped footprint on the soil, preserving the site's natural permeability. Every component is mechanically fastened. This commitment to dry assembly ensures that the building remains a reversible system. It is a structure designed for its eventual disassembly, where parts can be unscrewed, lifted, and re-integrated into other contexts, effectively treating the house as a temporary storage of materials rather than a final consumption of resources. The architecture is defined by the tension between the heavy concrete volumes and the glazed corner rooms. The L and U elements are positioned to contain the functional requirements of the home—the kitchen, the bathrooms, and storage. What remains are four identical rooms, each 20m², formed in the negative space between these structural monoliths. Because these rooms share the same dimensions, they are inherently interchangeable. Their specific identity is not dictated by their size, but by their relationship to the ground and the ceiling. By suspending the timber floor planes at varying heights between the concrete walls, the project introduces a series of vertical shifts. These offsets disrupt the uniformity of the plan, creating unique perspectives and varying degrees of enclosure or openness as one moves through the house. At the intersection of these four rooms lies the heart of the house: a central fireplace. This core acts as the singular anchor point, organizing the circulation and social life of the home. In this sense, the project operates as a miniaturized version of a Palladian villa, where symmetry and a centralized hearth provide a sense of monumental order within a modest, industrial framework. The result is a dwelling that sits at the intersection of the heavy and the light—a house built from the language of infrastructure but scaled for the intimacy of the everyday. _ © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Franziska Krieck © Petillon Ceuppens © Petillon Ceuppens © Petillon Ceuppens © Petillon Ceuppens © Petillon Ceuppens © Petillon Ceuppens © Petillon Ceuppens © Petillon Ceuppens © Petillon Ceuppens © Petillon Ceuppens Location: Rotselaar, Belgium Typology: Single-family house Surface: 80 m² Budget: 290.000€ excl. VAT Construction: Pre-cast concrete elements, timber, dry assembly Architect: Petillon Ceuppens and 31/44 architects Photography: Franziska Krieck