Collection

Schoffeniels House

  • Date 1967-1969
  • Address Rue Riessonsart, 107 – 4877 Olne

Built on the edge of the Pays de Herve and set apart from the small village of Olne for Ernest Schoffeniels, a doctor and professor at the University of Liège, the Schoffeniels House marks a transition in the architect’s approach to single-family housing design. Constructed at the same time as the Country Hall, it incorporates various features from the latter, including the square floor plan and the shape of the roof. The house is built on eight T-shaped concrete columns that support the roof. The pyramid-shaped roof is reminiscent of that of the Country Hall and reflects the architect’s ongoing research into roofing design. These columns, positioned around the perimeter of the floor plan, allow the living spaces to be free of any supporting structures and facilitate the organisation of the spaces using lightweight partitions. As in the Country Hall, Vandenhove positions the entrance at an angle. After passing through the hall, the visitor enters the living room, around which the four bedrooms and the kitchen are arranged. Wooden posts divide the space and support the mezzanine, which extends beneath the roof and houses a bedroom, a bathroom and a study. A dome-shaped skylight provides natural light to the upper floor.

As is often the case, Vandenhove’s influence is also evident in the home’s furnishings. In particular, the architect designed several pieces of furniture, such as the bookcase, a sideboard and a table. As a sort of variation on the main plan, three square-shaped covered terraces extend the corners of the house. Supported by slender concrete columns, the Plexiglas domes provide ideal sheltered spaces extending from the kitchen, the living room and the hall.

  • Description of the collection

    Plans, specifications, correspondence with the various trades, photographic record…
  • Volumetry 1 archive box (0.12 m)
  • Bibliography

    BISCOGLI, Luigi, « Vandenhove 2 » in Casabella, n° 346, mars 1970, p. 14-19.

    BEKAERT, Geert, L’architecture et l’architecte, Charles Vandenhove, Liège, Pierre Mardaga, 1976, p.43-55; 96-99.

    VERSCHAFFEL, Bart, Charles Vandenhove : architecture / architectuur 1954-2014, Tielt, Lannoo, 2014, p.13-14; 114-119.

    BEKAERT, Geert, Art et architecture, Charles Vandenhove, Tournai, La renaissance du livre, 1998, p.38-39; 211-215.

    « Maison Schoffeniels à Olne 1968-1969 » in Architecture, n° 93, janvier-février 1970, p. 672-675.
  • AUTHOR AND DATE OF THE ENTRY Sébastien Charlier, 2021