Living On Exhibit

Antwerp, Belgium-based one-year-old sculp(IT)is a partnership of two architects, Pieter Peerlings and Silvia Mertens. They have recently completed a clever office, residence and studio for themselves in what they call ‘Antwerp’s narrowest house’ located in Anwerp’s former red-light district. They took a 2.4-meter (7feet 10 inches) wide space between two buildings, erected a steel skeleton in it and installed four wooden floors, one each for work,dining, relaxing and sleeping, plus a bath tub on the roof.

A one-piece staircase connects the floors. The walls are all glass,allowing light in and creating a feel of space. In a nod to the area’s’ exhibitionist’ past, each ‘window’ to the street has a black frame emphasizing the showcase or display aspect. The multi-color lighting scheme completes the seedy notion. By Tuija Seipell