153 LIVING WITH THE RIVER
TRANSFORMATION D’UNE MAISON UNIFAMILIALE À LUXEMBOURG-PFAFFENTHAL
maître d’ouvrage : privé
architecte : kaell architecte
ingénieurs génie-civil : aucarré
photos : sebastian persuric
plans : kaell architecte
livraison : 2024
LIVING WITH THE RIVER
The floodings of 2021 left this modest 1930s townhouse in Luxembourg-Pfaffenthal uninhabitable. Situated along the Alzette River, within a flood-prone area subject to recurrent water level rises, the project addresses a dual challenge: making the house resilient to future flooding while enhancing spatial and architectural quality.
The approach is deliberately paradoxical: rather than rejecting the force that caused the damage, the project engages with it. Instead of closing off, the house opens, establishing a direct relationship with its surroundings. An earlier extension from the 2000s remained inward-looking; within a modest volume, a recalibration was necessary to amplify openness and reinforce this dialogue with nature.
Water is not excluded, but managed. The lower level is conceived as a resilient threshold, coupled with drainage and pumping strategies that allow controlled exposure to recurring risk and ensure swift reoccupation.
From the entrance, a split-level landing extends the view through the house towards the landscape, reinforcing depth and continuity. While the overall volume remains largely unchanged, spatial perception is profoundly transformed.
The project is structured around a balance between mineral surfaces, timber joinery, and metal structural elements. Their interplay, refined through a careful balance of tones and textures, ensures visual continuity and a sense of lightness, supported by carefully resolved construction details.
