d’Hoef
The so-called ‘D’Hoef’, the farm and stables of the castle in Loenhout, is a country house dating from 1746, built according to a design by the Flemish Rococo architect Jan Pieter van Baurscheit the Younger. The estate has been in family ownership since the 1960s. Several family members live in the two wings of the main building and in the outbuildings.
Three years ago, I was commissioned to convert one wing of the castle into a residence. That work has now been completed.
The renovation of the historic farmhouse, ‘D’Hoef’, is also finished. Over the years, the building underwent several modifications. Low-quality brickwork from the 1970s has been replaced with historically accurate masonry.
The windows facing the courtyard reflect the unconsidered approach to renovations in past decades. On the exterior, we have replaced several small lunettes with simple, tall windows that both enhance the view of the surrounding park and better align with the building’s original architecture.
Interior insulation is applied using an ecological material, installed via internal wall cladding. This same product is also used in the newly designed attic space, which has been reorganized with OSB walls and the same sustainable insulation. New windows have been added to the façade. The custom-built cabinets will later be brush-painted, allowing the texture of the wood to remain visible and appreciated.
Craftsmanship at its best with this expelled staircase cast in concrete.
