yinjispace

INTERIOR
Glenn Sestig Architects
PHOTOGRAPHY
BIJISPACE
EDITOR
Gina
Collection

When the morning mist had not yet dissipated, sunlight had already flowed down along the edges of the concrete, leaving geometric light spots on the grey stone floor. This building, hidden in the suburbs of Durle, Belgium, is like a sleeping giant beast - the two staggered stone walls at the entrance are like its shadows, leading visitors into a carefully designed visual delay. When bypassing the last barrier, the mottled concrete blocks suddenly came into view: It was like a crashed alien spaceship, crawling on the perfectly trimmed lawn with the marks of time erosion, forming a sharp contrast with the neatly arranged mansions around.

Following in the footsteps of the house owner, Glenn Sestig, we first feel that this building is breathing through the years. The sunken gallery is the first breathing hole of this house. The giant pencil mural (3×8 meters) created by Sol LeWitt in 1972 is still changing colors under the skylight. When sunlight penetrates, the Moraine sofa designed by Zaha Hadid and the outline of the courtyard mound cast a double projection on the travertine floor, creating a unique visual experience.

Glenn Sestig introduced that when he and his partner Bernard purchased this endangered building in 2017, their renovation was like a precise surgical operation: the facade maintained the Brutalist outline of Ivan van Moschewald in 1970, but the interior was completely hollowed out: all non-load-bearing walls disappeared, the ceiling and floor were repoured, and the positions of the window openings were recalculated according to the trajectory of light. The most astonishing feature is the 60-centimeter concrete platform surrounding the building's base - this seemingly decorative "rain skirt" is actually a sophisticated environmental installation. It not only prevents rainwater from splashing up mud spots and polluting the glass but also forms a ritualistic separation between the building and the land.

In this house, every item is not an isolated existence. The decorative tiles designed by Gio Ponti, the travertine bowl produced by the Italian brand Up&Up in the 1970s, the mini leather skull handbag of Alexander McQueen, etc. have all been ingeniously placed in prominent positions. Even the empty cans of used Tom Ford scented candles have been creatively transformed into bedside flower vases. They are ingeniously arranged to jointly create a unique atmosphere, presenting a minimalist yet wild beauty.

The open wardrobe is like an installation art in an Italian exhibition hall, neatly displaying the Bottega Veneta clothing series designed by Raf Simons and Matthieu Blazy, which is treasured by Glenn Sestig. The spacing of each shirt is precise to the centimeter. The velvet dining chairs in the breakfast area are always covered with linen covers that prevent cat hair.

When dusk seeps into the floor-to-ceiling Windows, the building begins to display its true magic. The newly chiseled skylight in the bathroom turns taking a bath into a celestial observation. The only air-conditioned space in the bedroom, like a jewelry box, seals the private aura of Glenn and Bernard. Their encounter began in college. Now, the tacit understanding of soulmates permeates every corner: Bernard's slippers are always placed at a 45-degree Angle along the edge of the fur mat, and the breakfast corner composed of two Brazilian designer chairs records twenty years of morning conversations. When the light spots reflected from the swimming pool surface swim on the ceiling, the entire house seems to be digesting the feast of light and shadow of the day.

Glenn Sestig said that he not only pays attention to the present of space, but also thinks about its continuation in the future. His design concept stems from his concern for people. When interacting with clients, he keenly captures their tastes and needs through shopping, taking walks, visiting galleries and other means, making the space truly become a container for the user's life.

When leaving this warm modernist exhibition hall, we looked back at it for a long time - light and shadow flow, green penetrates, art and life interweave, and those carefully calculated window openings become the pupils of the building. And Glenn's ambitious expansion plan is already on the blueprint: more books and artworks will soon be infused into this container, and the interaction between people and space is as natural as breathing, jointly composing a poem of life.

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