An Interview with Brussels-based Interior Architect Tine Loncin
When it comes to dividing up spaces, walls and partitions are usually kept flush, with a room’s size determined by how much needs to fit in that cubic area. Unless, that is, you live in this Brussel’s apartment designed by interior architect Tine Loncin. The 67sqm/721sqft space in what was formerly a nineteenth century brewery – the Van Doren Brewery, to be exact – presented Loncin with ample industrial charm and an awkwardly shaped space. In response, she developed an unexpected solution.
Never Too Small
Tine Loncin
What brought you to interior design?
It was a rather natural evolution. I originally studied Theatre Sciences and so while studying Interior Architecture, my ambition was to continue in scenography – I specialised in that at the time. But in my professional life, I began to get more and more commissions for renovations and conversions, and it gave me so much satisfaction, so in the end, I didn't get around to delving further into scenography.
Everything I gained through scenography and theatre studies has fed my way of designing. It makes me think “substantively”. My starting point is never what it should look like; it is the existing space – with its history, shortcomings, etc. – that determines where a conversion will lead. Should the design contrast with what is already there or should the design be accommodating to enhance the existing character of the spaces? The builder's brief has to be questioned. For example, why does the client want to add on? Perhaps it can be solved by rearranging and reorganising the existing house so that there is no need to add on.
Are you originally from Brussels? Has the city influenced your design thinking at all?
I was born in the heart of Brussels capital, where I still live and work today. Brussels is a diverse and multicultural city that embraces different cultural backgrounds, languages, and traditions. The city is home to 184 nationalities, making it a melting pot of cultures and identities. I grew up in this city and more specifically in my mother's small grocery shop. I gained an enormous amount of human knowledge there, which makes me very much in touch with life and the world beyond architecture and design. I think (I hope) this is reflected in my designs.
Let’s talk about this design. Can you describe the neighbourhood around this studio? You mentioned that the building was originally constructed in 1909 as a factory – do you know what it was used for? Is this type of building typical of Brussels or more of a rarity?
The studio I converted is part of a mid-19th-century factory building in a central part of the city. It was built then as a brewery. Van Doren Brewery closed its doors at the end of the 19th century. Several other companies – a perfumery, a shoe factory, a clothing factory – moved into the building, and a part of it was converted for housing in 1909. The flat, however, is located in the former industrial part with the factory chimney.
Back then, industry had a strong presence in the Brussels city centre. The city's industrial activities grew particularly fast between the second half of the 19th century and the First World War. Brussels was then one of the most industrialised cities in Belgium – so this style of building is rather common.
What was the apartment like when you first encountered it? Was it already residential and what were some of the things they were looking to achieve ?
The space I converted had been an artist's studio for several years. It still had many characteristics of an industrial space. My client then acquired the property and wanted to turn it into a habitable, comfortable one-bedroom flat on a limited budget.
Would you say you had a leading motivation behind your design? Any specific influences or inspiration?
I really wanted to preserve the character of the existing industrial space. I think it would be wrong to ignore the industrial allure inside of the building, but, that said, I thought it still needed to have the cosiness of a warm home.
Tell us about the shower “in the living room” (obviously it’s technically in the bedroom, but its footprint extends into the living area). Can you describe some of the structural challenges or limitations of the space and why you saw this as the best solution?
There are several large windows, but because the property is located on the ground floor in a narrow street, there is very little natural light. Plus, given the shape of the existing space it was difficult to fit a shower room into the floor plan without compromising spatial quality, incidence of daylight, and the possibilities regarding the location for the plumbing. The ideal solution was to place the shower in the living space with the toilet in the former factory chimney. What inspired me were the cylindrical fermentation tanks of a brewery because the building was originally built for this purpose. That came in handy to give the shower a round shape. As a counterpart to the cylinder shape, I ended up with a cuboid as the second functional object in the flat. Then I knew the concept was right.
Tell us a little more about your design ethos and the materials you chose for it. Why did you decide to extend the basin into the floating shelves?
The bedroom space and shower area reinforce each other: without the open cylinder shower, you would sleep in a square enclosed space and if you were to close the shower off, the bathroom would be too stifling – especially without the natural daylight. Since the shower opens onto the bedroom space, it needed to have a warm and cosy feel, like a “boudoir” from 18th-century France.
The shower room is very small and very modest – no expensive taps or expensive material – and therefore I could give importance to the design, the shapes. I felt it should have harmonious shapes. I imagined the shower room as an open fine jewellery box, though not too ostentatious. This is why I selected tiles that shine like oyster shells with slight variations of colour. Then, I went for fresh white floating shelves with playful round shapes to keep the shower room from becoming too weighed down or visually heavy. I continued this lightness and created a connection between the shower and the rest of the room with the wash basin that stands as a separate object on a shelf.
How did your client react to the suggestion? Was it an immediate hit or did it take some convincing?
Their first briefing was to provide a separate entrance area, a separate kitchen, bedroom and shower room. They saw this laid out with straight walls, so you can imagine their initial reaction when I showed up with a shower in the living space!
I felt that their layout would have made all spaces feel suffocating, though, so my idea was to partition only the bedroom – that's where they insisted – and to keep the rest of the property as spacious and light as possible. Rather than a space next to another space, I made the shower a cylindrical visual element of the living room and complemented it with a cuboid at the entrance that serves as a partition, wardrobe and kitchen cupboard.
It is often very hard for my clients to get used to a first draft. But if the concept sits correctly, they never want to go back to their own initial brief of how they envisioned it themselves. In these instances, after the first or second contact with a client, I leave with the euphoric feeling that I have really been able to contribute something to a project. An interior designer is more than someone who fills the space with objects. It is someone who tackles the space intrinsically and structurally.
What are some of your other favourite elements of the home?
The toilet in the base of the factory chimney, which is lined with the original bricks painted white.
Do you design for small spaces often or was this a first? What do you think are some key lessons you’ve learned about what it takes to create a beautiful and functional small footprint home?
I experience no difference in designing for a small space or a large space. My way of designing is always the same: creating possibilities, simple structures, and well-organised, surveyable spaces. A clear, uncomplicated concept as a common thread. I will never work out some shape or form simply because it might be beautiful. Shaping something flows pragmatically from my pen. There must always be a reason for something.
We're curious: What’s it like trying to find an apartment or home in Brussels? Do you think people decide to live in a small footprint home as a response to the city’s available real estate or is it more of a lifestyle choice?
Prices are on the rise in Brussels. Many are forced to live smaller and therefore more affordable.
On the other hand, due to climate change and other crises, people may be aware that the solution lies in living smaller and are making a virtue of necessity?
Any favourite Brussel spots you want to shout out?
Walking between desolate high office buildings on a much too hot Sunday in the summer holidays with the sound of air conditioners drowned out by Mozart's Requiem in the headphones - bombastic, I know :) – and deep black shadows. It is like walking in the artworks of De Chirico for me!
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