The Bunkers — Knokke-Heist, Belgium
Growing up on his family farm in Knokke-Heist, a charming rural retreat in Belgium’s north-east coastline, Axel De Bisscop fell in love with the abandoned 18th-century fort in the adjoining farm. So when the property came on the market in 2012, he was quick to snap it up with ambitious plans to convert it into a private residence, and a five-room bread and breakfast.
Bruges-based studio Architectuurburo Govaert & Vanhoutte were called in to renovate the two principal brick buildings – a farmhouse and a barn, which had once been the fort’s watch house and jail – in a harmonious sequence of slatted timber screens, glass walkway and brick. With Belgium’s cold winters in mind, an underground tunnel was dug to connect to the lap-pool and infra-red sauna whilst a clutch of original stone bunkers built around the First World War encircling the grounds now house chickens, sheep and bees which supply the dining table with honey and eggs.
Interior designer Kristof Goossens, meanwhile, counters the buildings’ lofty interiors of concrete, timber and stone with deeply set grey sofas, thick-piled rugs and wire chairs. Taking centre-stage is a sleek kitchen sheathed in black powder-coated steel specified by Vipp, a favourite marque of the owners who also worked closely with the kitchen specialists on the lamps and a sophisticated rack system.
When the bucolic views of fields and sheep no longer enchant, then Damme and Bruges are a 15 minute drive away.
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
Burkeldijk 18 B-8300|
Knokke-Heist
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
International African American Museum celebrates life and memory on 'hallowed ground'
The International African American Museum opens in Charleston, USA, acknowledging 'hallowed ground' and celebrating life and memory
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Discover solid gold piercing jewellery from Astrid & Miyu
Astrid & Miyu introduces solid gold piercing jewellery to its core collection
By Hannah Silver • Published
-
CAZA’s Santuario de La Salle aims to ‘connect people to place and heritage’
CAZA’s Santuario de La Salle church pushes the boundaries of traditional religious design at the De La Salle University campus in the Philippines’ Biñan City
By Nana Ama Owusu-Ansah • Published
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico
By Chadner Navarro • Published
-
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland
By Daven Wu • Last updated
-
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia
By Dimity Noble • Last updated
-
KLoé Hotel — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
By Jennifer Choo • Last updated
-
Casa Hoyos — San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
By Daven Wu • Last updated
-
Littlenap — Hangzhou, China
By Daven Wu • Last updated
-
Casa Santa Teresa — Corsica, France
By Daven Wu • Last updated
-
K5 — Tokyo, Japan
By Danielle Demetriou • Last updated