Residence DRK
Located within a former printing house in the historic center of Antwerp, this apartment was conceived around a remarkable collection of sculptures, paintings, books, and objects accumulated over the years. The architecture grew directly from the collection, providing a backdrop where each work finds its natural place within the home.
The project is rooted in the parallel journeys undertaken by its owners. For Christian, it represented a return to his native city after more than three decades away, a chance to reconnect with a place that had always remained part of his identity. For Francesca, after more than twenty years of exposure to the Flemish culture, Antwerp had gradually become a place of unexpected familiarity.
Designing this home became an exploration of that shared sense of belonging: not a return to the past, but the creation of a place where two cultures, two histories and two ways of seeing the world would coexist.
Light, proportion, and a restrained material palette establish a calm architectural framework in which art quietly inhabits the spaces alongside those who live there. Conceived as a place of stillness, the apartment is a space to pause, reflect and reconnect.
Architecture becomes meaningful when it creates a sense of belonging.
- Status
- Completed 2025
- Location
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Photos
- Tijs Vervecken
Residence DRK
A home where returning, collecting and belonging become one story.
Located within a former printing house in the historic center of Antwerp, this apartment was conceived around a remarkable collection of sculptures, paintings, books, and objects accumulated over the years. The architecture grew directly from the collection, providing a backdrop where each work finds its natural place within the home.
The project is rooted in the parallel journeys undertaken by its owners. For Christian, it represented a return to his native city after more than three decades away, a chance to reconnect with a place that had always remained part of his identity. For Francesca, after more than twenty years of exposure to the Flemish culture, Antwerp had gradually become a place of unexpected familiarity.
Designing this home became an exploration of that shared sense of belonging: not a return to the past, but the creation of a place where two cultures, two histories and two ways of seeing the world would coexist.
Light, proportion, and a restrained material palette establish a calm architectural framework in which art quietly inhabits the spaces alongside those who live there. Conceived as a place of stillness, the apartment is a space to pause, reflect and reconnect.
Architecture becomes meaningful when it creates a sense of belonging.
- Status
- Completed 2025
- Location
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Photos
- Tijs Vervecken
