Family Home in Bruges Is a Shared Space for Neighbours
By making their home accessible to the public, the homeowners hope to make a positive and connective impact on the neighbourhood.
G-LAB, created by tc-plus design team, is an experiment that has transformed interior architect Tom Callebaut’s research into a laboratory for generosity and hospitality. For Callebaut, G-LAB (where ‘G’ stands for hospitality — gastvrijheid) means ‘interdependence’. A place where black and white thinking is tried to be broken.
While the home itself is designed to be a private space for the family, it can also be shared by the community, where various spaces play with different levels of privacy with the use of curtains that create fluid boundaries.
“Many different experiences have been created so that everyone can feel at home in one of the spaces — the house is a hospitable place.”
Hence, in front of the building, there’s the Neighbour’s Court, where ‘everyone can play together no matter their age or language.’ The curtain to two outdoor rooms is often open. Inside, rooms have been divided based on their function, like, for example, the Zen Room.
The interdependence factor becomes important considering the fact that you cannot rent the spaces in the G-LAB, ‘only share them.’ The home aims at being ‘an experience everyone can come to taste,’ encouraging further discussion and changes about the future of living within a community.
