House Pibo is a split-level home located in Maldegem, Belgium, on a small site that creates the need for the home to be built close to the street. Designed by OYO Architects, House Pibo has a green roof sloped upward from the street to create an extension of the garden.
The exterior of House Pibo is covered in a waterproof rubber membrane that changes its tonality depending on the weather conditions.
The sloped roof has been planted with several varieties of flowering plants chosen for their consecutive blooming periods, so that each can bring a new ambiance to the roof as spring turns to summer turns to fall.
The lower level of House Pibo is where the bedrooms are located, and the earth that surrounds them on all sides but one keeps them cool in the summer.
The street facade features two popping volumes that interrupt the green roof. The first is the entry, clad in wood, and the second brings light and height to the dining room a half level up.
The entry opens to the living room where a half flight of stairs next to the doorway leads down to the bedrooms, and on the other side of the living room, a second half flight of stairs leads up to a second seating area as well as the kitchen and dining areas.
Glass paneled balustrades between the two levels in the social zone keep the various areas visually connected.
The living room is formed around the media center while the second seating area on the top level enjoys both the view and the fireplace.
The two sided fireplace is accessible from the terrace and can therefore be used as a barbecue in the warm months. The terrace also holds an al fresco area and a small swimming pool.
White walls and wood floors were chosen to create a Scandinavian like interior ambiance.
With the exception of one section of mill-work, the kitchen is all white.
Color is added via the light pendants (blue) and the furnishings (yellow).
The window protrusion adds extra ceiling height above the dining table.
With the dining window set back and raised up a half level from the street, the window does not offer a view inside to passers by.
The dining window does, however, offers a view to the outside.
Upper level plan.
Lower level plan.
OYO Architects
Photography by Thomas De Bruyne
Green roofs are becoming more and more mainstream, with some designers even creating prefab modular homes designed to be covered with grass and others designing a series of homes to be semi-buried with a rammed earth wall.
