Villa Kaplansky x GreyScape
Our project Villa Kaplansky was featured on GreyScape, an online magazine celebrating Brutalist, Modernist and Constructivist architecture.
"Dirk Engelen of B-bis architecten in Antwerp was hired in 2011 to renovate the Villa, 77 years after it was designed by Nachman Kaplansky for the Kleinkramer family. The Villa was a triumph, a beautiful modernist family home with all the hallmarks of what had made Kaplansky the go-to architect.
[...] it became clear that much of the original design had been lost long before heritage and protection of buildings became a hot topic. Significant parts of the interior had been altered unsympathetically in 1962. Dirk explains that his first inspections showed, ‘an interior with a 70s feeling in a 30s shell.’ [...]
The B-bis approach was to redesign the interior creating a more open plan feel, reshaping it ‘with Kaplansky in mind’ but with the knowledge and innovations of a 21st century home and way of living.
With a firm nod to the heritage of the project, elevations were restored, with new steel windows and details. ‘A new, round window was added in the side elevation, to bring in more light on the one hand, but to bring the 30s spirit back in as well’. The transformation is spectacular."
Enjoy reading the full article here.
Learn more about Villa Kaplansky.