In Brussels, an Architect’s Copper-Clad House Makes Brutalism Warm

Bruno Vanbesien transforms a former bakery into a concrete-cool home base for his family and architecture practice to share.

Mar 27, 2023 - 19:34

In Brussels, an Architect’s Copper-Clad House Makes Brutalism Warm

Bruno Vanbesien transforms a former bakery into a concrete-cool home base for his family and architecture practice to share.

The slats on the window offer solar protection and privacy.

Bruno Vanbesien may be an architect by trade—but he’s also a connoisseur of office design.

Back in 2008, he worked for a Swiss website that compiled profiles of architects. In his time there, he wound up visiting more than 100 offices of the best architects in Belgium. It was an education—not just in seeing how these influential designers worked, but where they worked.

Copper cladding will patina over time. Horizontally articulated windows and standing seams give the facade a sleek, streamlined presence.

"I saw all different types, some professional, some informal, and I always wondered how I would make my own office," says Bruno.

With his BV House + Office project, he finally got the chance to put all that observation into practice, transforming a dilapidated, 3,315-square-foot residence and bakery on the outskirts of Brussels into an innovative four-story live/work hybrid of his very own.