Some time ago, the magnificent 'villa Luc Van Laere' changed hands via Immodôme. The perfect moment to ask the original builder, Paul Cocquet and his partner Vera, and landscape architect Peter Adams of Avantgarden, some quick questions about this architectural high flyer in the greenery.

Builder Paul Cocquet gives the go-ahead. 'Originally we lived in the Waasland area. When it became too busy for us there, we decided to start looking around Schilde. A period of regular driving around and looking for a suitable plot of land followed. 

During these searches, we were pleasantly surprised by some realisations of architect Luc Van Laere, who already had several projects to his name in this region. Moreover, Luc had also just designed an office building in Aartselaar for the company where I was working at the time, so we knew his work from that industrial property as well.

Three points of interest 

'First of all, we asked him what we should pay attention to when buying a plot of land. He pressed three points of attention on us: the plot had to be spacious enough to build an open building comfortably; it had to be well-oriented, with the terrace and garden on the south side; and it shouldn't be too low, so that you didn't have to raise the ground with trucks full of earth. That last one is such a typical architect's point.' (Laughs.)

Vintage Luc Van Laere

'When we finally found the land of our dreams, we sat around the table together. We provided him with some keywords of things we think are important - symmetry, simplicity, minimalism - and Luc immediately struck up drawing in his signature style. One of his hobbyhorses was the use of reclaimed bricks, long before recycling was a thing. He then also added those bricks not white, but grey. This resulted in an unusual look. 

And then there are the horizontal lines he created in the house by indenting a row of bricks at certain distances from each other. When you see that in a house, you can almost put your hand in the fire that it is vintage Luc Van Laere.'

Free play for the sun

'In our house, he further worked a lot with curves. Here at the back, for instance, we have a curved window across almost the entire living room. This is very interesting with the southern sun - otherwise it would get blood hot inside in summer. The curves are reflected at the dining area, the entrance and even in the ivy growing in line with that window at the back. Everything was meticulously measured out. 

It was a very nice collaboration where we felt very much in tune with each other, and we are incredibly happy with the result to this day. It has become a very spacious, quiet, green and light house. Also important: on the ground floor, everything is open and there are hardly any interior doors, giving natural daylight free rein to flow in. Fantastic!

A multidisciplinary team and tight planning 

'Another advantage of working with Luc Van Laere was that he had people from all sorts of disciplines in house - an expert in concrete, an expert in lighting, an interior architect ... That total picture was particularly interesting and nice to be able to fall back on. Follow-up by Luc and his team was very strict: every week there were site meetings and someone came by to follow up the work. We started the building phase in June 1991 and by the end of February 1992 we were already able to move in, an impressive feat of planning! 

In May that year, Luc came again to check on everything one last time, although unfortunately he was already very ill by then. That he cared so hard about the people for whom he built a home was also one of his characteristic, wonderful qualities. Ill or not, everything had to be pico bello in order. The very next month we received the sad news that he had passed away. A great loss ...'  

Peter Adams, inspirer of Avantgarden and personal friend of Luc Van Laere, agrees. He was part of his multidisciplinary team. 'Luc was my best friend at the time. We saw each other every day on sites, but also on weekends. He died far too young, shortly after this garden was finished.'

(Archive photo by Peter Adams and Luc Van Laere)

Taut symmetry

'In this villa, the covered terrace on concrete posts is very striking. You can see that Luc took a tightly symmetrical, almost palladian, approach to the design in his typical style. So to make the house blend with the garden, we also worked for the garden around the house in a tight, symmetrical way: the garage on the left and the office on the right form two large blocks. This is reflected in the boxwood blocks in rows of three by three, reflecting the window as it were. We also continued the concave back facade in a hedge.'

U-shaped pond

Paul and Vera add. 'Peter sensed perfectly what Luc's intention was. The symbiosis between those two was so beautiful to see. Moreover, together they also sensed very well what our wishes were. I vividly remember the discussions about the overbuilding on the terrace. Luc always wanted a pond near the houses he built, but we didn't quite see where it could be. At the back of the garden perhaps? No ... That was a no-go for Luc; he insisted that we should see the pond from the house. And so the U-shaped pond came up for discussion. In retrospect, a fantastic idea, and so soothing! Sitting on the covered terrace, all you hear is the babbling water and the birds. Even if it's raining cats and dogs, this is one of my favourite spots of the house.'

Wild nature

And then what about the rest of the garden? Peter continues. 'At the back of the garden, we integrated a piece of wild nature. Or rather: we were able to keep what was already there. We didn't need to plant much and we only enriched the existing nature with the classic forest plants, such as ferns and other shade plants, a first step towards more biodiversity. That is a very important theme these days, which fits in very well with Avantgarden's vision.' 

Consciously more biodiversity

'I wouldn't immediately call the increased attention around biodiversity a fashion or trend, but rather a substantive evolution. In my own garden at the time, I barely had four or five species of plants, hedges, ground covers and trees; minimalism was the magic word then. In the meantime, we know better. 

The government is also asking all construction sites - from large projects to smaller, private gardens - to pay plenty of attention to biodiversity, water management, softening and ecology. We therefore see it as our mission to make our clients aware of the importance of nature, and how shamefully and carelessly we have treated it in previous decades. 

Sometimes people tell me: 'Gee, my garden is just a tiny drop in a whole hot plate, isn't it?' But all those little drops add up to make a gigantic difference! More biodiversity means more insects, so you attract more butterflies and then more birds; biodiverse hedges rather than tight ones make for a much richer range of plants and animals; softening makes for much less drying out and heat ... Let's all try to reverse that negative spiral and bring it back up!'

BREEAM and Natuurpro 

'For more than 20 years, we as a company have been working on increasing and enriching biodiversity. In doing so, we work according to the English BREEAM system, among others. Of those studies, 90% deals with sustainable (re)construction, a whole total package from insulation to bicycle parking, and 10% deals with the sustainability of landscaping.

Another workshop is planned soon at Avantgarden with Natuurpro, a partnership between some 30 Flemish companies active in green space, landscape architecture and ecology. Mainly green specialists will meet there to make as many gardens and landscapes - both private and public and large construction projects - a lot more natural. A fine and important initiative that comes over from the Netherlands.'

Pioneer in sustainability

Luc Van Laere also proved to be ahead of his time in the field of sustainability. Paul digs up an anecdote. 'Before the sale, we had to apply for all kinds of certificates for the EPC. I prepared the specifications and the building plans. An EPC of 179 for a 30-year-old house is exceptionally good. The man who came to inspect the house was also impressed. 'I never come across that,' he said with big eyes, 'a house that was already so well insulated at that time!' And that is Luc Van Laere all over again. The ordinary wasn't good enough for him and he didn't give an inch on that. Just add another layer of insulation, he would say with determination.' (Laughs.)

Indoor-outdoor feeling

Back to the garden. 'The general atmosphere of the garden fits well with the villa, where the indoor-outdoor relationship was very important. For me personally, the covered terrace in every house is my favourite place, so also in this house,' Peter explains. 'I love spring and summer, but reading or eating in the sun? No, I really don't find that pleasant. That's why with a covered terrace you're always right, come rain or shine. A garden also often has different perspective lines or axes, and then such a central terrace is ideal for looking out over that green scene in your garden.' 

Moving smaller in time

Now that the time to move has come, Paul looks back with mixed feelings. 'The flat we are moving to has the same elements as this house: it is very open, with lots of light and few doors, well oriented and overlooking greenery. So what we like so much here, we will take with us there. 

Of course we are leaving with pain in our hearts, because from day one we have loved living here, and we will also miss our good neighbours. Still, there were really only two options for us. Option one: hand over the maintenance of the house and garden to people we hired to do so, in a house that is actually too big for the two of us. Or the second and easiest option: move down in size. The longer you wait with that, the harder, more difficult and annoying it just becomes anyway. So we decided to tie the knot while we are still fit enough,' Paul explains. 

'Finally, I would like to say that the cooperation with Immodôme went very, very well for us. Realtor Katrien followed everything up perfectly, so nothing but praise and gladly recommend the office. By the way, we ourselves got the tip from friends, and everyone knows that word of mouth is still the best advertisement!'