Omloop

Roosdaal, Belgium

Omloop is a 1990s turnkey farmhouse of the standard Flemish kind, a fermette, in Roosdaal in the Pajottenland of Flemish Brabant, reworked in 2023 by hé! architectuur for a couple who work in the social sector. The daughters' old bedrooms upstairs were taken out and part of the pitched roof replaced with a glasshouse roof, which made this winter garden, set apart from the heated part of the house by a thick rammed earth wall that works as a heat buffer. Hanne Eckelmans, the practice's co-founder, says the project "explored how to minimise the heated volume while enhancing the home's connection with nature".

The room is fitted with a table and a small countertop, its floor is textured concrete, and the rod across the glazing works hinged openings at the ridge that pair with openings at eye level to pull air through; the dining room proper is downstairs beside the kitchen. Eckelmans again: "a new living space was created with views of both the forest and the fields beyond". Below it the old hall and office became the living room opening onto the winter garden, an earthen stove replaced the oil boiler, the garage became the front door, and a bedroom and bathroom were added at ground level so the couple can stay for life; many family members and friends helped with the building.

hé! architectuur

hé! architectuur is a bilingual Brussels practice run by Hanne Eckelmans, who started it in 2017, and Renée Verhulst, who joined in 2019, working with Emma Margo and Maud Maes. It prefers renovation to building new and works with regenerative and carbon-neutral materials.

he-architectuur.be · Instagram

Architecture @he_architectuur. Photography @tvdvphotography. Seen via @designplusmag.

The picture comes from this post on Instagram.

Researched September 2026. I credit each piece as carefully as I can; if you know more about this one, message me on Instagram.